


The Rebellion of a Cruel Soul

by PandaGod03



Series: The Crescendo of Two Vitalities [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: BillDip, Dubious Consent, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Fluff, Heavy Angst, M/M, Mabel Still Cockblocking Pines, Slow Build, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Violence & Gore Jumps, mabifica mentions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-30 09:03:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 204,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6417379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandaGod03/pseuds/PandaGod03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Thou wast that all to me, love, <br/>For which my soul did pine— <br/>A green isle in the sea, love, <br/>A fountain and a shrine, <br/>All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers, <br/>And all the flowers were mine.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "I sagte, ich hab dich gehasst."

_"I am tired of this place, I hope people change_  
_I need time to replace what I gave away_  
_And my hopes, they are high, I must keep them small_  
_Though I try to resist I still want it all_  
_I see swimming pools and living rooms and aeroplanes_  
_I see a little house on the hill and children's names_  
_I see quiet nights poured over ice and Tanqueray_  
_But everything is shattering and it's my mistake_  
_Only fools fall for you, only fools_  
_Only fools do what I do, only fools fall."_

**[Fools | Troye Sivan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfD96yRT8cs) **

* * *

Dipper didn't know why he said yes in the first place.

He ran a hand through his curly brown hair, scratching the scalp in both agitation and nervousness. It's been a while since he came here. More than two years, actually. 

Wind whipped his hair around, the branches of trees snapping and creaking in the empty cemetery. It felt like a scene out of a horror movie, with one boy sitting crossed-legged in front of a mossy abandoned gravestone with no one around but the chilly October air and himself. But, in all honestly, Dipper thought it felt like the most calming thing in the world. There was no wonder why people called him the weird guy in town. In a good way, of course. Being weird in the small Oregon town of Gravity Falls was the equivalent of being cool in any other ordinary place.

He reached out carefully in front of him, meaning to touch the gravestone. But he hesitated, pulling his arm away like he was electrocuted. 

All was quiet in the cemetery. 

He could almost hear his own heart beat in his chest. Dipper gulped. His weight shifted under him uncomfortably. He just had no words, none. How does he begin talking?

"Hello," Dipper said to the wind. 

No response, but that was to be expected. Unless, of course, the ghosts of the cemetery decided to pay him a visit. Weirder things have happened to Dipper Pines in the past before.

"I'm...I'm glad I finally got to see you," Dipper mumbled, his cheeks reddening by the pure embarrassment of talking to a gravestone. He had heard that many people in mourning would do this sort of thing, always coming to their dead loved ones to talk about their day as if they would hear every word. He wasn't in grieving, or even remotely pitying. But he still chose to talk to the grave, because he knew how much it meant to the other.

"I'm guessing the afterlife is a little dull for you, huh?" Dipper said in a hushed tone, chuckling softly at his words. "Well, since there's not much to talk about, I guess I have to bother you with my own life. If that's uh, okay with you."

He cleared his throat, bringing himself closer to the gravestone with his legs still crossed. "My name is Dipper Pines," he introduced, the words bitter on his tongue, "I'm twenty years old, a professor at the local high school here in Gravity Falls, as well as the co-owner of the Mystery Shack. I have a t- a few friends here and there around town, but I'm not really that close to anyone else. It's October Fifth, if you're that kind of guy. I'm guessing you are. You share the same blood with him, anyway."

He scratched an itch on his neck subconsciously, looking away from the grave. This was getting weird. 

"Not much happened today, to be honest," he continued, doing it for the hell of it. "My class had a test last week. A big ass history test I kept badgering them to study on."

He blinked, rubbing his sore eyelid. He grimaced to himself, mentally slapping his own face for forgetting to clean out his glass eye. Dipper took a shuddering breath, feeling tears prickle at his one good eye nonetheless. The words felt like acid.

"I graded them today. They all passed. Except for one," Dipper murmured, chewing on his bottom lip in old habit. He closed his eyes, taking a shuddering breath in and out slowly through his nose. "I gave him one hundred percent though. I could tell he struggled," Dipper added a moment after. Then almost as if he was speaking only to the wind, to let it be carried throughout the whole garden of dead souls, he whispered, "his big sister died of leukemia last week." 

Dipper shook his head, feeling stupid for talking to the gravestone. It was mossy, dirty, like no one cared to even clean in ever since it was implanted in here. But the other stones were no better anyway- did not a single person care about them?

He laughed in his mind. Funny, blaming people for not taking care of their dead loved ones, when he never took care of the girl's resting place. Or even visited.

"Everything okay?"

Dipper released a breath he held, his shoulders relaxing as the dark-haired boy sat down beside him on the slightly damp grass. The boy's green eyes sparkled in worry.

"Just felt a little weird talking to him," Dipper informed the boy, nodding at the dirty headstone.

The boy frowned at the dirt coated on his brother's grave. But the frown merely disappeared a moment later, replaced by a warm smile as his head turned to look at Dipper. "You'll get used to it. I do it every week when I have the time."

Dipper fought back the reply that bubbled up in his throat. "I would have loved to meet him," Dipper admitted softly. He brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them close like a little kid.

"It's a good thing I got to meet yours before she went," Damon chuckled, resting his weight behind him with his hands. "She could've been friends with him."

Dipper frowned at the ground, playing with the sodden grass. "Who?"

The boy opened his mouth to reply, confusion clouding his eyes. Then it snapped back to him, and he shook his head wisely. "Nevermind. I just came here to talk to you about something."

"What, did the new employee explode something again?" Dipper teased.

The dark-haired boy laughed joyfully, punching Dipper's shoulder playfully. "Aw, don't be so mean to her," he teased back. "What? She exploded like five lava lamps this week! How is that even possible on _accident?_ " Dipper whined. 

His companion chuckled. "Anyway, no. That's not what I meant. I want to give you something."

"Please don't say another ticket to Disney Land, we already went there twice this-" Dipper groaned. He was cut off in surprise when a small chain clattered to the ground in front of him. 

On closer inspection, thanks to his glasses, Dipper saw that it was a necklace. A flame, red and glittering in the sunlight, attacked to a gold chain with a gold plating on the gem. A ruby gem, he supposed it was made out of. But was that really real...?

"The flame is out of rubies," the dark-haired boy said nonchalantly, "it's made out of gold too."

"Gold?" Dipper choked. "Like, real _gold?_ "

The boy grinned, shrugging in response. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Gingerly, as if he was scared that he was going to break it at his touch, Dipper held up the necklace woven in between his fingers. He held it up to the sun, letting it wink at him. It was beautiful, breathtaking even.

"It's beautiful," Dipper breathed, "but you really didn't have to-"

"Don't tell me what to do with my life, Professor Pines," the boy grinned lopsidedly like a wolf. His black hair in a form of a small quiff tousled in the wind. It made Dipper's heart stop dead. "I own a very successful Shack with you, plus family money from my father's business. Buying that was like buying a piece of gum."

Then the boy's face softened as his green eyes looked into Dipper's. "But it means the world to me to give it to you," he mumbled under his breath shyly, "I didn't know why I chose the flame. It just looked cool in the shop. Maybe it means 'my love for you is like this flame' or something?"

Dipper laughed softly, putting the necklace around his neck. It fit perfectly, not hanging loosely or too tightly around his neck. Not too heavy, but not too light for him to not notice its presence. Perfect.

"You know that this means I have to get you a gift too? I totally forgot," Dipper groaned, smacking his forehead. The boy laughed at his reaction. Small dimples appeared on his face, making Dipper smile to himself. He loved that tiny detail about him.

"It's still morning, Professor Pines," the boy purred, "go to the mall and get me some ice cream or something. I can take care of the Shack for a few hours."

"I mean, are you sure? Usually, Fridays get pretty busy and-" Dipper babbled. The boy waved a hand in dismissal.

"Go. I can take care of it," the boy assured him. Then as an afterthought, said, "if you let me do one thing."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

The boy grinned, turning his body around to face Dipper. Their eyes locked, holding each other's gazes for what seemed like a full minute. Then the dark-haired boy cupped Dipper's face, pulling him close. 

He kissed Dipper full on the lips, laughing as he pulled away. 

"Happy anniversary, Professor Pines," he laughed, tilting Dipper's chin up to look at him straight in the eyes. 

"Happy anniversary, Damon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Rebellion of a Cruel Soul, the sequel to the book that made some of you cry out in pain! Ignore the screams of terror of fangirls in the background :D.
> 
> Double the angst, double the fun, am I right? No? Well okay. But anyway, t'is a short chapter to get things rolling. I believe this sequel will be twice as long as The Legacy is (maybe, I'm not sure yet) but we'll see! And twice the angst, comes the twice the angsty-fluff. Yes there's fluff, but uh- cough cough, spoilers 0_0.


	2. Promises To The Grave

_"You and me, we made a vow_  
_For better or for worse_  
_I can't believe you let me down_  
_But the proof's in the way it hurts._  
_For months on end I've had my doubts_  
_Denying every tear_  
_I wish this would be over now_  
_But I know that I still need you here_  
_You say I'm crazy_  
_'Cause you don't think I know what you've done_  
_But when you call me baby_  
_I know I'm not the only one."_

**[I'm Not The Only One | Sam Smith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCkpzqqog4k) **

* * *

"God fucking damn it, Cipher!" Mabel groaned, rattling the table with a fist. 

Bill laughed, folding his hands in front of him as he motioned Mabel to carry on. "What's wrong, Shooting Star?" he purred innocently. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Actually, it was a pig," Mabel pointed out blankly, waving Waddles away from her morning tea. The cute little pig oinked happily, waddling away to bother some poor servant with muffins on their trays.

Her nose wrinkled as she looked back at their Battleships board game. "Dang," she grumbled, putting down her tea on the saucer beside the small round table they were sitting it. The tips of Bill's lips twitched. "I have one and a half ships left."

"What was that part about one and a _half_ ships?"

Mabel _pssshed,_ waving a hand in dismissal. "What? Did I say that? No!" she gasped, putting a hand over her heart in fake shock. Bill couldn't help but snort at his best friend's lying skills.

"This is why you were never good at selling things at that old Shack of yours," Bill sighed dramatically, rolling a game peg around his knuckles. 

"Tell that to the millions of citizens outside my door," Mabel stated proudly, waving a hand behind her.

Bill poked his head over at the window. True, outside were dozens of humanoid candies walking around and greeting each other. And true, he pouted, that Mabel was their mayor here in this dimension. A wonderland, just as Bill had promised. And not a fake one- but a true paradise that he mustered for her oh so long ago. It took him months to build, days and days of collapsing and feeling like his insides were burning as he changed her nightmares to sweet dreams. But it was so, so worth it.

"Candies. Your citizens are candies," Bill mused.

"Don't say such a rude word to my people!" Mabel scolded, swatting his hand with a ruler she mustered up out of thin air.

Bill laughed, rubbing the top of his now-red hand. It stung a little, but not enough to seriously hurt. He deserved that. Just as much as he deserved everything out of life. He took a long sip of his tea, letting the warmness soothe his throat as it went down. He gulped, setting the small cup down back to its saucer before he spoke. "Well, _Mayor Mabel,_ I'm kind of getting bored of this ship game anyway. Do you want to play anything else, Your Highness?"

"Fangirls like me never get tired of shipping, you twat," Mabel mumbled under her breath.

"What?" Bill frowned.

"What?" Mabel frowned.

"Wh-?" Bill began, shaking his head. "Nevermind. Just answer the question."

Mabel giggled, snapping her fingers. Their board game disappeared, replaced by Monopoly. "Monopoly then?" she inquired. Bill wrinkled his nose. She sighed at his reaction, letting the board game disappear. "No Monopoly and rage quitting for today then. You can pick this time, Bill Bop."

Bill glanced at the grandfather clock in her room, identical to the one in her old home. His lips down-turned when he saw the time. It was morning in the real world.

"My body should be waking up soon, Princess," he informed his best friend, "I don't think we'd even have time to put make up on Waddles."

"Aw," Mabel whined. She stood up from her spot on her chair, letting their little tea party play-set disappear. "Not even five minutes?"

Bill smiled apologetically at her, stretching his back as he stood up. They talked for hours on end today, longer than Bill can remember. He kind of liked it. "Two or three minutes is all I can spare without over-driving this body. But I'll see you tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mabel shrugged. Her eyes were lit up with the same Mabel he saw all those years ago. Except this Mabel was happier in a way- but he could tell there were loneliness and longing in her eyes. The both of them were in need of a friend in the circumstances, one in a deal trapped for three years, and the other trapped in a paradise that could get boring without the company.

"This is your land, Shooting Star," Bill blurted, tilting his head slightly to the side, "you can conjure up any person you want, just as you did when I- you know, in that bubble of yours."

"You know I can't, Bill," Mabel sighed. And there it was. It was the same conversation they had about seven times now, and each time Mabel said the same thing, and never changed her mind no matter how much Bill pleaded her to change her perspective. "I can't replace them, even if they're-"

"-in your dreams, blah blah blah," Bill rolled his eyes. He's heard about her excuse for the umpteenth time. "You didn't have much problem making up that perfect brother of yours. What did you name him again? Dippy Fresh?"

Mabel laughed, but the sound was hollow, even to Bill's ears. "If I could make a perfect brother in this world, I would," Mabel whispered, catching Bill off guard, "but Dipper is already a perfect brother the way he is."

Bill clenched his jaw, averting his gaze away from those too familiar brown eyes. He laughed to get the nervousness out of his system. "Well, say goodbye to Waddles for me. I gotta go," he told the shooting star.

Waddles, technically, was the only friend or family Mabel had in here. He killed that pig for a reason. He buried the head, and only the head for a reason. So Mabel could have a friend, a real friend with the mind still there, not some brainless picture perfect person Mabel conjured for herself. The pig wasn't going to live long in the real life anyway. He had a feeling the pig would rather stay with Mabel, trapped in a mindscape for life. In fact, that would be paradise for the little pig.

There was no Pacifica, no Dipper, no Grunkles, no parents- just her, the faceless servants and citizens, Waddles, and Bill. When Bill asked why when he first came to visit her all that long ago, the pain in her eyes made Bill want to take his words back. "I can't replace them, Bill," she said that day, "I learned my lesson when you trapped me in that bubble. You can't replace the ones you love."

"But you'd be lonely in here," Bill argued with a frown when she said those words, "you only have me, and I can only visit once a day."

He remembered seeing her smile, a sad one that he knew for his benefit. He didn't remember her response that day. Everything was so hazy when he first visited, his limited powers forcing him to adjust first to visiting such a livid mind. Mabel Pines's mindscape, of course, was the most creative and eye-blinding place he had ever seen. Both in a good sense and a bad sense. 

Almost identical to the one he put her in, the place was called Mabel Land, candied citizens and faceless humans he had never seen in his life the only residents living in the place. The sun always seemed to shine, the nights were short, and everyone always seemed, well, happy. But of course, Mabel's adulthood took a toll to a place like this.

Alcoholic drinks were aloud, the nights were long when Mabel felt like partying, there were always shirtless guys walking around, dirty dancing male strippers took place every Wednesday, smoke packs were free, and Bill's personal favourite- a replica of the Mystery Shack just at the outskirts of town, ran by faceless employees. But even with these new improvements, the innocence was evident. Such a childish mind, he had to admit, but he would give anything to have a mindscape like this. 

He tried to look into his own mindscape once, just out of curiosity. After all, he was in a human body with a human mind- he was _bound_ to have a mindscape. But what he saw in his mind was bare- literally bare.

White walls, endless corridors marked by the date it was in earth years, along with the feeling that everything in the place was trapped. He sighed when he came into his own mind, almost turning around to leave from disappointment. But one door caught his eye, and he found himself stuck in that room after he read the plate. 'Happiest moments of Bill Cipher' read the door.

Out of interest and desperation for something, _anything_ to let him take his mind off the cruel world he was set in for the next three years, Bill stepped through that wooden door, expecting gore and sounds of screaming to fill his ears lovingly. But he saw just the opposite; a brown-haired boy with the kindest smile, the most wonderful laugh and the cutest frown was in every single memory. Every single one.

He found himself watching through those memories longingly, finding things out about their relationship a little too late. Dipper always seemed to have the most sincere smile around Bill- and Bill himself was no different. The looks the two gave each other across the room, the breathless moments when they kissed, the little actions they did that showed that they cared for the other. Two love-struck boys, a love story that should have never ended in cold blood. He didn't even know if-

Bill swallowed, running a hand down the shelf of Mabel's golf tournament trophies. She was a little superstar in this world of hers. "My body got trashed last night," Bill told the girl after a moment of complete silence, bringing his brows together in concentration. He completely forgot about last night. "The hangover might delay my sleeping schedule."

Mabel sighed melodramatically, plopping herself on her pretty pink beanbag. Waddles snorted affectionately, bringing himself to her lap to take a nap. Mabel began to pet her pig without really looking, propping her head on her propped hand to take a look at Bill. There was motherly disappointment in her eyes, making Bill bark out a small laugh from in between his lips.

"Bill Cipher," Mabel scolded, "you went out drinking _again?_ "

"I'm stuck in a twenty two year old man's body, and I might as well have-" Bill snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

"This it the third time this week, dude!" Mabel huffed, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "How the hell are you going to even going to get out of here when you keep getting _wasted?_ "

"Oh come on, Shooting Star," Bill whined, plopping down across from her on an almost identical yellow beanbag. "It's not like I can die. I'll just keep on coming back."

"That's not what I meant," Mabel began, giving Bill a nasty look as she petted her poor pig who napped on her lap. It reminded the demon of a super-villain in the movies he always watched. "Your deal with your uncle, Bill. What date is it, even? October something, two years after I freaking died? You know that you have less than a year before you get trapped back in that bubble, don't cha? You're letting your uncle win by default."

Bill's eyes narrowed. A cup of tea was placed on his lap, and despite just having one a couple minutes ago, he took a sip for the hell of it. "I'm trying, alright? Yeesh. No one's as- I can't find anyone who can make me feel like I'm in love again. And for the record, my uncle isn't winning, I'm still-"

"Do you hear that? It's the sound of your uncle laughing his butt off," Mabel whispered sarcastically.

Bill glared slightly at her. "I still have a couple months left. I'm good. I'm just having a little-"

"Ho ho, he's laughing _so_ hard right now that he can barely breathe!" Mabel exclaimed, her eyes wide as her saucer as she did the jazz hands. 

"Shooting Star, there's honestly nothing to worry about, I got everything under co-" Bill sighed. 

"Oh, oh! He's on the floor now, rolling! Oh my gosh, I don't think he can take this anymore! Ahhh!" Mabel screamed, laughing to herself at her genius interpretation of his uncle. Not bad, he had to admit. 

He growled under his breath in annoyance, ignoring the laughing girl by turning his head around to look at her wall. Her bubblegum colored wall was littered with pictures and drawings, all from her past. Most of them from the summer she stayed at Gravity Falls- her most happiest times, he bet. Dipper and Mabel, playing in the river with their Grunkles. Mabel and Pacifica on the rooftop. Mabel and Waddles playing dress up in her room. Mabel and Bill taking a picture together in her blanket fort. Bill's jaw clenched. 

"No but really, Bill," Mabel cooed softly, catching Bill's attention, "you're a demonic triangle thing with the power to take over the world. And I'm not saying you should take over the world, but you are my friend and this is the benefit for you but- you seriously gotta fall in love, man. Were you even trying these past few years?"

"You know what I did," Bill grumbled, taking a huge gulp of his tea. It scalded all the way down his throat, but the warm feeling was welcoming. Soothing, even. Mabel's saucer clacked as she looked at him in pity. 

Oh, she knew exactly what he did over these past few years. He always told her everything about his day, anyway. He never forgot about the deal.

After he left Dipper to die hanging himself, he left Gravity Falls as soon as possible. He traveled literally everywhere in this country- New York, Ohio, California, Mississippi, Wyoming, _everywhere._ And within those states, within those towns- he whored around.

Whether that was having sex with strangers or making out with acquaintances, Bill did _everything_ to fall in love. But being a tramp for the night wasn't a solution, even for pleasuring. He always found himself wondering when this was going to be over, when he could stop faking his moans and his cries for more so he could go home. Girls, boys, in between, no one seemed to be as perfect as the brunet that took his heart. 

When Bill looked up to meet Mabel's eyes, he saw her smiling. 

"What?" he asked in confusion. Was there a milk mustache on his upper lip again?

Mabel shook her head, a grin plastered on her face like a proud mother. "Nothing," she said nonchalantly, "it's just that, even after the Weirdmageddon incident, you still act like a four year old."

Bill's eyebrows raised in surprise. That was a comment he wasn't expecting. Selfish and cruel, sure. Weird and a slut, whatever. But a toddler? What kind of shame did he put on Shooting Star to make her call him such a name?

"In your dreams, Shooting Star," Bill huffed. 

"Technically you are," Mabel pointed out blankly. She giggled at her oh-so-intelligent comeback, placing her saucer on the pig's wide back. It rose and fell with each intake of a breath, but the saucer and cup never slipped off. "Think about it, Bill. You threw tantrums when you couldn't get out of Gravity Falls, you acted like partying past eleven PM was a virtue, and-"

"What is the point of calling me a child, exactly?" Bill cut off, putting his cup and saucer away on the desk beside him conveniently. He almost huffed, then remembered that it was exactly what toddlers do. So he glared playfully at his best friend instead. 

"My point is," Mabel chirped, almost happily. She patted Waddles's head to get him back to sleep when his little eye cracked open in disturbance. "You're scared."

"Me? Excuse me, Shooting Star, but I am the essence of life, the demon overlord of a thousand dimensions, I don't-" Bill huffed. 

"You're scared of going back to Gravity Falls," Mabel insisted, "You're scared to see him." Her familiar brown eyes were flared up in anger and frustration, all directed at him. Just like-

"If you're saying that I should try to make Pine Tree fall in love with me again," Bill snapped, "it's not going to work. He's dead. You know that already."

"I'd know if my own twin is dead, Bill," Mabel said casually. She waved a hand, refilling her tea with brown liquid. Pitt Cola. "For an intergalactic demon with the knowledge of the universe, I can't believe you don't know basic math or that twins can sense each others' souls. How the hell did you even teach my Grunkle Ford all those equations? Jeez."

Bill's face wrinkled in disgust. Such a low bow. "I don't know basic math because my dimension has no such torture, you insolent fool," he said in a posh accent to lighten the mood. It usually worked, and it didn't fail him this time. Mabel giggled, almost choking on her pit when she swallowed it by accident. "I just winged the whole equation with Fordsy with my magic. As for the twin soul thing- yes, I know. But you're stuck in a mindscape, kid, you can't-"

"Oh, yes I can," Mabel objected, making Bill's jaw latch close in confusion.

"You know, when you made me this wonderland thing," Mabel continued, waving a hand around the place to prove her point, "you must've went overdrive with the magic. I can- I can feel Dipper's emotions if I try to. For the first few weeks I was trapped in here, all I felt was sorrow and anger at myself. Slowly I kind of realized that they were _Dipper's_ emotions and well, I guess he's alive."

 _"You guess?"_ Bill squeaked, trying his best to seem nonchalant as seemingly, humanly possible. But he couldn't stop himself as he leaned forward in his bean bag in both excitement and confusion. "What the hell do you mean _you guess_  he's alive?"

Mabel raised an eyebrow in amusement. Bill cleared his throat, leaning back to seem disinterested. But the deed was done. "I _guess_ so because a dead man can't feel this many emotions at once."

"What kind?" Bill frowned. 

Mabel thought about it for a while. "It used to be just all depressing thoughts. Disappointment, anger, frustration- that sorta thing. But then, I dunno, something must've happened because now all I feel from him is giddiness and excitement."

"Are you sure you're not tuned in to Gideon Gleeful's emotions?" Bill asked half-sarcastically. That didn't sound like Dipper. That didn't sound like his lover _at all._

But the news of hearing that his lover was even alive was enough to make Bill feel warmth again. Ever since he left the boy to hang himself, all he felt was coldness and limp thoughts. It scared him so much to live like that- not because of the guilt of letting Dipper to hang himself, but the reverence of knowing that he would do it all over again.

"I know my twin," Mabel laughed. "He may not seem the happy-go-lucky guy to you, but he can be with the right people. You, for example. I have never seen him smile so genuinely until you walked into his life. Well, after a few days, at least."

Bill let out a low laugh. Dipper was alive. 

A bowling ball felt like it was dropped in his stomach. _He was alive._ He didn't know, honestly, if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Promise me when you wake up from your hangover that you go back to Gravity Falls?"  

Bill tilted his head slightly to the side. "I abused your brother, manipulated him, lied to him, pushed him to _suicide_ ," Bill began. His brow wrinkled together in confusion. "And you still want me to go back to him?"

"Of course," Mabel stated calmly, confusing the poor demon further. She saw the look on his face and elaborated further. "Even with everything you did to him and to me, I know he could change your mind about lots of things. I care about his sanity, I sincerely do- I was the one who pulled the trigger on him, anyway. But do you really think it would help if you keep ignoring him like this?"

"He could live happily knowing that the one who took everything away from him was gone for good," Bill muttered.  

"And he could live _happier_ if the one he loved came back," Mabel spoke, her eyes set firm on the demon in front of her. "I don't care what you think about it, Bill- you love him. I know he loves you too, he just needed more time to sort things about before, you know..."

"You think I don't know that?" Bill muttered, the words rolling around his tongue like battery acid. He barely got them out. "You think I don't know that I love him? That I care about him so much that I would literally give up my immortality for that idiot? It's not a game of possession anymore, Shooting Star- I love him too much to keep him to myself when all he needed was to get away from me."

Mabel's jaw slackened at his words. He knew that she didn't expect anything like that to come out of his mouth. He barely believed he said them too. Bill Cipher, a cold-hearted bastard he literally raged terror on the little town of Oregon, loving a boy so much that he would leave him be for his happiness? That wasn't how his family or himself rolled. They were possessive beasts, and if things didn't go their way, God save the Queen. 

"Jeez, Bill," Mabel whispered, running a hand through her long hair. She never really grew out of her long style, even in her mindscape. "I didn't know you..."

Bill let out a bark of a bitter laugh. He propped his head on the heel of his hand, looking at Shooting Star with an amused look. "Love," he said, echoing out the words on his mouth. It was foreign, even though he literally spent days learning fluent German. "You meat-sacks have no idea what that word can do, do you?"

Bill sighed, not waiting for her response as he dragged a hand through his face. "I promise. I'll go back to Gravity Falls the moment I wake up. I'm in Idaho, anyway- just one state over and I'll be back home." 

Home. Home and Love. That was the two words he thought he would never say in a trillion years, unless it was to curse those words to oblivion and to take them out of the English dictionary.

"Thanks, Bill. You're the best!" Mabel whooped, standing up from her beanbag in excitement. Waddles hopped off her lap in surprise, waddling away to a new spot in her room. Before Bill knew it, his best friend was up and about towards him, enveloping him in a long bone-crushing hug. 

Bill chuckled softly into her hair. He petted her hair out of reflex, soothing the young girl. "Tell me what my idiot of a brother is up to these days, huh?" Mabel teased, letting go of him to punch his arm. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you everything," Bill promised. They did the usual pinky-promise act, a tradition Mabel set forth upon him. He got used to it. 

The haziness was starting to take place in the middle of Bill's forehead. His muscles began to ache, his legs feeling like molten lead. He was waking up, right on schedule with his hangover. 

"Say hi to Perseus and Penelope for me! Tell the taller one to stop taking the sugar from the fridge, it isn't good for them," Mabel scolded.

Bill's brow furrowed. "Perseus and-?"

He woke up to a dog licking the side of his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's come to my attention that I confused the hell out of everyone last chapter lol. I was like "Why is everyone confused, everything isn't even-!" then I realized. "Oh yeah, I'm the author, I know what's happening, whoops," I said to myself with a nervous laugh.
> 
> There's so many questions that will answered soon, and when I meant soon, I mean in a very long time from now lol. T'is why theories were born :D.


	3. A Lynched Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny how I'm posting this on the day of William Shakespeare's death lol. Uh- that wouldn't make sense until you read the end, I promise.

_"So what do we do now?_  
_Everything we built, we broke it_  
_It's all shattered and broken_  
_I can't get you outta my head_  
_It's all fallin' down_  
_Time that we get goin'_  
_Things you never told me_  
_I thought you were the one."_

**[Distance | Jack & Jack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX2UXpz87ME) **

* * *

Bill groaned, a hand flying over to the side of his head. He squeezed his hair, feeling the nausea from last night's party setting in. 

A wet tongue slid down his cheek, making Bill groan louder as he turned around to avoid the wrath of the tongue. 

"Alright, alright. I get it. I'm up," he slurred, his words slow and dry on his tongue. Fuck. He hadn't felt this terrible since the first night he went out. Everything was so sensitive at the moment.

A frustrated huff sounded through the room, his companion getting off his bed in an instant.

Bill smiled to himself, glad to have some peace and quiet for once. But the peace was short-lived, as the weight came back upon the bed to jump on him over and over again. 

"Sto- _Dip!_ What the hell!" Bill yelped, his arms flying up his face to protect it. 

His dog barked happily to see him still alive, licking his face a hundred times to get him up. But Bill's head pounded with the hangover, making him stay down on the bed to avoid collapsing all over again. But the dog didn't get what hangovers were or why his human- er, _demon,_ didn't want to get up when they usually got up bright and early in the morning.

Bill wanted to murder the dog. But eh.

"Dip! I'm up, I'm up! Just- give me a few minutes to recover, capisce? I'm tired," Bill negotiated, shoving the dog's body away from his bed. 

The dog fell to the floor with a thump, a happy bark soon following after. The dog trotted out the door, to watch for burglars or something probably. Bill turned around in his bed, grabbing the end of his blanket to pull it up to his face. But his uncoordinated hand missed, hitting him square in the jaw. He grinded his teeth together, pulling up the blanket at last. There must be a bruise forming on his jaw now, but he couldn't care less.

 _Stupid dog,_ he growled. 

His dog, a brown pitbull with a mean attitude, was his only companion throughout his "mission" around North America. He technically couldn't go outside North America without raising too many suspicion, so he decided to stay here. Luckily too, as on the first week he traveled around, he found a half dead dog behind a dumpster in New York. He took pity, bringing the dog in to his apartment in secret (he blasted a man off the street to oblivion when he almost yelled at Bill) and took care of the poor animal.

Even with his treatments (both from magic and human ointments), the dog still had the scars from their time on the street. One ear was half bitten off, a long four-clawed scar came down its snout and face, along with a missing back leg that made the dog limp. He did his best to take care of those wounds- disinfecting the scar down its face, giving it lots of food and water, and giving it a wooden peg for a new leg. He didn't let the scars disappear for a reason- two, actually. His magic was limited and he didn't want to risk further hurting the dog, as well as the scars represented a survivor of the streets. He refused to raise a pansy.

He eventually named the dog Dip, as promised. Not exactly a cat, but it was better. Dip the Dog and Chip the Cat. It was fitting. 

Bill grinded his teeth together, trying his hardest to make the headache disappear. But even magic couldn't help him now. It made him groan, pressing his forehead against the pillow to try to make the headache lessen. 

He cracked his eyes open, gaining the courage to peek out of his blanket. A glass of water was set on his stand, and with a shaky arm, reached for it. He chugged it down in an instant, his throat feeling a little less dry and croaky. 

Bill smacked his lips, slowly getting up from his bed. His head spun in an instant, forcing him to sit at the edge of the bed to wait for the unease to disappear. 

He grinded his teeth together, squeaking the tops of his teeth. He groaned, running a clumsy hand through his messy, greasy hair. If he was in his demon form, he never would have had these problems. He just _had_ to make that deal, didn't he? Well, it was better than being stuck in a bubble for life, at least. He thought.

Dip came back into his room with a clean grey v-neck and some sweats- casual, but not too casual in case he needed to pick up another chick for the night to test his less than one percent chance.

"Good girl," he praised softly, patting the dog's head affectionately. 

Dip barked happily, placing his clothes in his outstretched forearm. She padded away, probably once more to guard the doors of his small apartment he was living in for the past few weeks. It was unnatural for him to stay in a state or town for more than a month- this was one of the rare states in which he stayed in longest.

He remembered, faintly, staying in Piedmont, California for three and a half months, the longest he ever stayed. 

With a sigh, Bill got up from his bed with a loud creak of the cheap mattress, slipping the shirt over his head after disposing of the old one covered in vomit to the floor. He didn't bother showering- the cologne could cover it enough for the day. Besides, he wasn't going to see someone immediately afterwards. He was going on another road trip for another town not worth coming to.

"Dip, come here!" he barked, whistling for his dog.

The dog trotted into his room in an instant, her hackles raised in case he needed her to attack someone, as he usually did at least one point in the week- out of fun or annoyance of the person, Dip never complained. 

"Kennel. We're going another road trip," he sighed, shuffling over to the closed kennel by his bedside. He opened it, the dog following suit almost immediately. He closed it tight, placing a knot over the handle to make sure it didn't break open as it usually did.

Bill heaved the kennel, walking it into the small living room and kitchen space. He patted the top of the metal cage. "Are you comfortable in there, girl? The trip would just take over two hours, shorter than normal, I promise," he told the dog within. The dog answered back with a bark. He took that as an okay, patting the cage one last time before turning around on one heel.

He entered back in his bedroom, changing out of his pants to the sweats given to him by his dog. Throwing a yellow baggy string hoodie over his gray shirt, Bill felt almost too comfortable in them. 

The rule about the fuckboy life, if that's what everyone called i **t** , is that you had to dress to impress, no matter what. If you wear sweats, no person would take you to bed willingly, no matter how hot you are. So with an irritated sigh, Bill took off his sweats and replaced them by black leggings. Not much of an improvement, but that was the best he can do with the state he was in.

A black hat caught the corner of his eye, reaching over to grab it. He placed the top hat on his head, letting a cane to appear by his side. 

He looked at himself in his body mirror by his bed. He almost smiled. Almo **s** t. 

Bill Cipher was turning back to himself. All he was missing was the eye-patch.

He shook his head, taking off the top hat and throwing it to the floor and letting the cane to disappear into thin air. He wasn't that demon anymore. He wasn't the power-hungry demon who tried to take over Gravity Falls. He wa **s** still blood-thirsty, obviously, but not for that kind. He wanted more than a town of weird, ignorant meat-bags. He wanted more than to take over the world by himself. He wanted the brunet boy. In every single way.

He walked into his living room, grabbing the kennel with one hand and grabbing a suitcase in the other. All his belongings, no matter how s **a** d that was. He was so used to moving that he didn't even need to **p** ack anymore.

A couple minutes later and he was out the door of the apartment building, his bills paid off and his apartment building seeming to shine with how less dust there was since he messily inhabited it. He wondered if having these limited powers wer **e** for just being lazy, not to help him out in this crazy promise **h** e made with his uncle.

His dog was loaded in to the back of his black, slick Dodge Ram with a happy bark following suit. Though the dog was usually the quietest and meanest of any herd of dogs out at a dog park, Dip always seemed to act like the nicest around Bill, and only Bill. He never complained, as the dog knew when to keep quiet whenever Bill came home with a new partner.

Bill sighed, entering the driver's seat and placing the key into the ignition. He was tired and res **t** less, his head still dizzy **f** rom the too many drinks he took the night before. But at least he didn't take some **o** ne home to **n** ight, or else th **i** s situation **w** ould have been a hundred times more difficul **t**. Oh well. He would have them kick **e** d out of his **h** ouse with a blank mind. 

He began to drive to Gravity Falls.

But before he did so, the dream demon glanced at the picture of Dipper Pines in his wallet. 

Perhaps **t** he boy should be called a demon himself one day.

* * *

"Did you just growl at me?! Growl at me one more time, hoe, and I'll pelt your skin and hang it in my room while I keep your head as a paperweight. Growl at me, I dare you, whore!"  

Bill slurped up more of his mango smoothie, watching the people of Gravity Falls mill around the mall.

One particular girl, a blonde woman who seemed to be in a fight with her boyfriend, was yelling out their conversation for the whole mall to hear. And he thought _he_ had problems.

Sadly, the trip to the mall was a waste of time on Bill's end. He only came here to get gas anyway, and for some time to be wasted. Nothing in this mall had changed, and he hated that. Did no one in this stupid town know to reconstruct once in a while? Lazy buffoons.

He scrolled through his phone, putting his ankle up to his other knee. He leaned back against the leather sofa, setting his smoothie down by the coffee table beside him. He was just in the heart of the mall, lazily chilling at the public couch to wind down. The ride to to Gravity Falls was longer than expected.

Dip kept barking in the back of his truck, throwing herself against the cage like a wild animal. It pissed him off a little, as the dog never did such a thing ever since he took her in. It was like the dog knew exactly where they were going, and she didn't like it. Well, to be fair, he guessed he didn't want to be here either. 

Clothes, food, toys, more food, which one should he go to buy?

Well, obviously the food. But he needed another alternative.

Bill scrolled through his phone, stifling a yawn with a hand. Everything here was too _boring._ Do the idiots not know how to party anymore? This is exactly why he needed to take over the world, asap. He needed to teach these poor children how to party like it's the one hundred seventy eighth dimension!

One second after another, his phone kept buzzing with messages from his one night stands back in Idaho, asking him if he wanted to do it again tonight, or asking him where the hell he was. With a wrinkled nose, Bill turned off his notifications, huffing out an irritated breath as he pocketed his phone. 

Yes, it was the same phone Mabel gave him. Yes, he still had Dipper's contact number, though it was at the very bottom of his eight thousand contacts. Yes, he nearly choked his partner to death when the guy cracked a dent in it. Yes, he still had Mabel's phone number. And of course, naturally, he called her number every night to let it go to voice-mail.

"Mabel Pines here, wazzup!" her voice would hoot in the other end, "if you're hearing this, it means I'm probably out partying with my bro or with my chick. Either one works. But hey, doesn't mean I don't have time for you! Just leave a voice-mail, and I'll send sprinkles later for an apology."

"Mabel, are you-?" Dipper would ask.

"Ah, dang it! You ruined the voice-mail thingy!" Mabel would complain, acquiring a burst of bubbly laughter from her twin in return. "But anyway, here's my bro Dipper, you guys! Or uh, whoever you are."

"Sup, um, Mabel's friends," Dipper said shyly. Each time, Bill could almost _hear_ his awkward wave. "Don't get mad at my sister, she's probably out there doing some Mabel shit."

"Dipper, _language!_ "

"Well you called Pacifica a 'a fucking smoking hot piece of ass' when we-!"

"Back to commercial break, byeeeee!" Then the voice-mail would cut off, not before you could hear an audible yelp as Dipper Pines was hit over the head with a spatula by his bubbly, red-faced twin sister.

Thinking about it, Bill almost burst out laughing. Those twins. He never knew if they were enemies or best friends, because they would always seem to change from one concept in a blink of an eye. But it was clear, even with their bickering and insults thrown at each other's way, that they loved each other more than the world itself. 

And Bill had to take their worlds away from each other.

He closed his eyes, leaning his head against the sofa behind him.  Suits. Yeah. He should go buy some more. He was running out of them, anyway.

He tapped his foot against the polished floor of the mall, tapping it to the beat of the song stuck in his head. Humming to himself, Bill opened his eyes to look around the mall. Any suit store was good, but he preferred if there wasn't any tailors ready. He liked the suits just the way they were, and forcing a tailor to dress him up was too boring and time-consuming for his taste. Besides, he could fix them up to the correct height and width for him with a snap of the fingers- literally. 

His eyes stopped onto one particular store just out of the corner of his eye. It was harder to see with the distance, but he could just barely make out the words on top of the store. A tailor shop. The very same one he went to with the Pines to buy their suits for Pacifica Northwest's party.

Bill grinded his teeth together, turning his face away from the store. He wondered, for a brief moment, if it was possible to go there without encountering the same people who made his suit.

He thought about it, his brow furrowing together in concentration. It's been two and a half years since he came here. Two and a half years since he went to that tailor shop. It was very much possible the two tailors left, or quit their job for that matter. And besides, there wasn't any better shop than that one- it was where he found an exact replica of his top hat! 

But, he thought with a huff, he wasn't here to buy top hats, nor will he ever buy top hats ever again. Or canes. Or eye patches. He was going to punch anyone who wore any type of those clothing. Even children. _Especially_ those dumb adolescences. 

So with a resigned sigh, Bill stood up from the leather couch. He pocketed his phone into the pocket of his hoodie, drawing up the hood up to his head. He stuffed his fists into the pockets, walking into the tailor shop with his head down to not draw attention to himself, just yet. He dropped off his smoothie at the nearest trash can, walking towards the general direction of the tailor shop. Wonderful. 

A thug-like, brightly sweatered twenty-two year old, walking into a tailor shop made for sophisticated suits and ties (not to mention hats). That wasn't suspicious at all.

Bill huffed, accidentally bumping his shoulder into a person's shoulder.

"Watch it, stupid!" the guy sneered at him, looking back at Bill with curled-back lips. 

Bill looked back, lifting his head and giving the thug a wry smile. His blue-cracked eyes, a phenomenon that either scared or fascinated people, made the teenage's own eyes widen in surprise. "I suggest you keep your mouth to yourself, Christian. But that doesn't really run in your family, does it, hmm?"

Christian, the teenaged angsty boy, stepped backward into the crowd, a very big mistake on his part. He fell down to the floor, knocking over an old lady. The two fell, and Christian's jaw moved to make up the words. "How did you know?" was what he was probably going to ask of Bill. But the dream demon stuck in a mortal body swiveled his head in disinterest, not wanting to cause too much mayhem for the day- at least not until noon. 

Bill walked into the tailor shop, opening the glass door with a little tinkle of the bell on top. He stepped inside, putting down his hood to look around better.

"Welcome to the Gravity Falls Tailor Shop! Are you here for pick-up or an appointment?" the girl chirped at him, lifting her head to see her new costumer.

Bill released a loosened breath. It wasn't the same girl. Nor was that girl anywhere to be found. "No, I'm not here for anything like that. Just here to browse."

"Anything in particular you would like to check out?" the girl asked, slipping her hands away from the cash register to step away from the counter. To help with Bill, he presumed. 

"No, no. I'm fine. I'll just have a look around, and I'll be on my way," Bill assured her. The girl hesitated, frowning at Bill's request. He guessed that not a lot of customers who came in here just went to browse- every person who owns a suit knows to have it up for pick-up, not to check out standard society sizes. 

So before Bill could encourage her more to follow him around, Bill turned on one heel and entered the shelves and hangers full of suits of all kinds. Business suits, dress suits, casual suits, funky suits, there was one for everyone. He promised himself that when he became overlord again, he'd have everyone wearing suits and dresses. Suits were too underrated, a clothing line the society considered "for the rich". _Maybe if you all took care of this dimension of yours and helped sometimes,_ Bill grumbled in his mind, _you'd all be considered rich. Yeesh, people._

Bill came to a stop to the nearest hangers, lifting a hand to sort through them. He wrinkled his nose, almost dropping his hands away in disgust. Ugh. 60's hippies style. 

He turned around, running a hand through his hair. What kind of style should he get this time? He already had a bunch of business suits, to go to job interviews that he knew he would never go to. He had a bunch of vests, for obvious reasons. He even had a dozen slacks, of every color.

What was he missing?

Bill licked his bottom lip, turning around on the aisle to go to another one. He sorted through the hangers left there, his eyes flickering with each suit presented. A brown professor suit thing with the patches on the elbows- nope. A James Bond-like black jacket- uh, no. He had too much of that. An Italian cut suit with the slacks for thirty percent off- not bad. 

He frowned, bringing out the Italian cut with the slacks attached to the hanger. The lapels were nice. No pockets, though, as per usual. Nice shoulder width- he wouldn't have to adjust those, at least.

Making a small noise of satisfaction behind his throat, Bill put it over his forearm. He stepped backward, looking at the section full of the styles to see if he should get another.

But his back bumped into a slim one, knocking over the person with a yelp of surprise.

Bill turned around in alarm, watching just in time to see a blonde haired woman crash to her knees with her three mini-suits flying everywhere.

Now, why on Heaven's earth would Pacifica Northwest have three _suits?_

Out of instinct, and because he felt like it was the least he can do, despite his mind wanting to leave the girl there with not so much as a sneer, Bill held out a hand. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

"Dandy, thank you," Pacifica huffed, taking Bill's large hand in her cold small one. Bill lifted her up, watching as the girl instantly rip her hand away from his to pat down her skirt. "Now look, there's dirt all over my skirt!"

"Sorry," Bill said sheepishly. "I didn't see you. Do you want me to call the police or something?"

"Oh, don't be so sarcastic," Pacifica huffed with a roll of her eyes. "It's not a big deal. What a big deal is, though- is how I'm going to get a refund for these suits. They're all goddamn _wrinkled!_ "

"Chill, Miss," Bill soothed, trying his best to sound as un-Bill like as possible. Was it possible that the girl didn't...?

"Whose, uh, suits are those for, anyway? If you don't mind me asking," Bill added. If he was going to bump into an old acquaintance, the least he can do was make small talk. And, he realized when he looked into her eyes, that there was no hint of recognition in the girl's eyes. He didn't really change much over the years- but perhaps her depression made her brain cloudy.

"Oh, just for my son," Pacifica answered almost immediately after the words left Bill's mouth. Her words weren't the only thing that surprised the demon- it was the way she said it. Proudly, softly, like a mother talking about their child' accomplishments.

So his magic worked. Pacifica Northwest and Mabel Pines now has a son.

"How old is he?" Bill inquired, bending down to pick up the suits, despite himself. He took one look at the suits, and already knew the answer that would come out of her mouth, without the suits or with it. Pacifica was already pregnant when he left.

"Two and a half. He's turning three in April," Pacifica sighed. Not out of annoyance, but more of contentment. Motherly instinct. She reached for the suits, in which Bill gladly gave back. "If you asked me to guess how old he was, I would have answered anywhere older than fourteen. Christ- do you have any idea how spoiled he is?"

Bill chuckled. He can only imagine. Northwest blood, mixed in with Mabel blood. Two very, _very_ unlikely bloodlines to conjoin was bound to have some problems. "I can only imagine, ma'am. What's his name?" Yeah, he was acting a little too nosy at the moment. But he couldn't help it. 

He couldn't help the feeling of pride and joy that swelled in his heart as well. Mabel and Pacifica's own flesh and blood, all thanks to him. Even though it was technically _their_ child, he couldn't help but feel protective of the kid. God save the Queen if the kid got hurt.

"Perseus Orion Northwest," Pacifica recited, the words almost automatic on her tongue. He could tell that she said his name too many times to count. Whether that was to scream at him to stop doing whatever, or to announce to her colleagues her new child. Though he mused that Pacifica must have had a hard time explaining who the father was. Or in this case, other mother.

"Beautiful name," Bill whispered. Then the name struck him. Perseus, to go with the tradition of having the letter 'P' in the Northwest family. Orion- for Dipper. And though with that realization, Bill couldn't help but frown to himself a little. It sounded a little too familiar.

His face must have went white, because Pacifica let out a bark of laughter under her breath. She patted one of the suits clean with a hand, looking down at it to make sure all the dust left. "My parents- they're pretty strict when it comes to names. Originally, I wanted his name to just be Orion, but I got forced to name him Perseus, the only Greek hero I know of with a happy ending. He hates his first name, I could tell you that. He doesn't respond to me unless I call him 'Orion'."

Pacifica's lips widen into a smile, a small wrinkle appearing by the side of her cheeks. A price to pay for the stress and depression set upon her for the past few years. Bill wondered if this was the only time in a long while she ever smiled. "It was ironic too, to name him Orion," she continued, "he has the Orion Belt on the left side of his hips. A birthmark."

Bill cracked his knuckles, pretending to look through the hangers in front of them. "He sounds like a mischievous child."

"Oh, he is," Pacifica agreed, "it doesn't help that the doctors think he has ADHD, dyslexia, and Tourette's syndrome. It drives the maids up the wall."

"Damn, all three?" Bill asked in disbelief. 

"Yeah," the woman sighed, "his Tourette's isn't as bad as most people would think. At least, he doesn't spit out curse words out of the blue- I mean, he's only two so we have to wait and see. But really, it isn't that bad. Just more like- ticks. Eye-twitching, shivers, all that jazz."

Bill kept quiet, reaching over with a hand to sort through the suits to stop his hands from clenching. "Does he ever wonder where his other parent is?" _Shit._ He forgot that he wasn't supposed to know who Pacifica was.

But the girl, oblivious to that fact, smiled to the ground. A sad, colorless one. Tears welled up in the girl's dark blue eyes, and Bill's hands almost stopped. Mabel's death affected so, so many people. "Sometimes," the girl whispered to the ground, "I would always say that she was riding with unicorns somewhere in Scotland. That the postcards that I send once a month were from her. Is it- is it bad to keep their innocence like this?"

Bill shook his head, sighing through his nose slowly. Then the blonde girl laughed, moving the suits on her arm to look for more damage. "I confused you with the 'she' part didn't I? I'm sorry."

"No, I get it. I do," Bill assured her. He pulled out a coffee-colored suit, tilting his head to the side to inspect it. Then he put it back, hiking up his Italian cut suit further on his forearm. "But believe me, that woman of yours is with unicorns and a pig. She's happy, but I believe she'd be happier to know that you are as well."

"I _am_ happy," Pacifica sighed, "well, not as much as I used to be with her. But I have my two kids. As long as I have them, I'm as happy as I can be without my other half."

Bill almost choked on air. Two? _Two?_ There was two of them? As in- _twins?!_

Then he remembered his decision when he gave them the present of a baby. He couldn't pick one, so he created two. He never knew for sure if his magic produced enough to make two, but here they were, twins created from his magic. And, the name, Perseus. Wasn't that what Mabel wanted to name her son? How in the world did Pacifica know _that?_

Right. Of course. The soulmate theory.

He swallowed a hard lump in his throat. Then that means the other-

"Where is the other child?" he asked Pacifica as casual as possible. 

"I think they're at-" Pacifica began, looking behind her through the aisles. "-aisle four."

A crash sounded through the air, sounding suspiciously like a curtain being thrown down by clumsy hands. Almost as if to confirm this, an employee shouted, "No, no! Not the curtains, not the-!"

"I told them to wait outside while I replaced Orion's suits from yesterday," Pacifica grumbled under her breath, turning on one heel to follow her children. She carried the three suits on one forearm, marching towards the aisle with the bubble of laughter.

"I'm coming to help," Bill stated.

"Oh, you don't have to, I just-" Pacifica assured him. 

"Nah, I can take two children. They can't be _that_ bad," Bill snorted.

Oh yes, they were that bad.

When they arrived at the aisle, Bill thought for a split moment that they were at a battle zone. Clothes were strewn everywhere, a lamp was overturned, an employee was running around with a frantic face, and of course- two small children, conjoined by one sweater that bound them together, one arm out each with their two closest legs acting like one. But it never stopped the two criminals, as they merely laughed joyfully, running away from the grasps of the panting employee. 

"Orion! Elizabeth!" Pacifica snapped, running forward and shoving the suits into Bill's chest. Bill took up the suits, watching at the blonde woman stomped forward, stopping the two conjoined-sweatered twins in their tracks. Their faces said everything. Bill had to hold back a snort.

"Give me _that,_ " Pacifica growled, taking the baton away from the hands of the blond boy. The boy whined, but his mother shushed him. The baton, it turned out, was a part of the curtain that the twins took down. The employee put her hands to her knees, heaving out pants through her mouth heavily.

"Perseus Orion Northwest, we came here to replace your suits using my _own_ money and this is what you do to repay me?" Pacifica guilt-tripped them. Bill almost cringed back by her tone. It was such a known way to guilt children, but it still worked. 

"Sorry, Mommy," Orion mumbled, hanging his head down in ultimate shame. 

The girl, a brunette with shoulder-length hair and black-pupiled eyes, did the same. In one hand, Bill saw that the girl was holding something close to her chest.

"And you," Pacifica scolded, turning to the girl. The two year old cringed back, burying her face in the over-sized blue sweater. Her brother let her head bury into his neck. Orion's left eye twitched. "Penelope Elizabeth Mabel Northwest, what made you think that letting your brother do this was a good idea? And to join him too!" Pacifica clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disappointment.

Bill almost snapped at Pacifica for being so rude to these good contestants of rulers of the world, but held his tongue. He had no custody over them, and he didn't even know these children, other than the obvious facts. But from what he could tell by how Pacifica was scolding them, was that Orion was the troublemaker (despite being named after the most nerdiest guy in a million dimensions), and that Penelope- or Elizabeth, she seemed to prefer, is the nice, introverted one of the twins. Perhaps she'd become a poindexter one day too.

The boy, Orion, was a blond. Blond hair, a mischievous quirk of the lips, and hazel colored eyes- he could easily pass for Bill's own child. The girl, Elizabeth, was a brunette, much like her mother, despite the hair being kept up to just graze above the shoulders. But she was two, so it was likely that she would grow it longer. Her eyes, black pupils much like Bill's old eyes, were wise and calculating- something Bill wanted to smile at. The little girl, he could tell, was going to grow up to be a ruler of the world- a queen in waiting.

A Knight and a Queen. Percy and Penny. Orion and Elizabeth. They were going to rule the world one day, just after Bill retires.

"Sorry," Elizabeth mumbled, her eyes refusing to meet her mother's.

Deciding that enough was enough, Bill walked forward, just right beside Pacifica. And much to Pacifica's quiet questioning, Bill crouched down, moving all the suits into one forearm to hold out a hand. "Nice to meet you two," he whispered to them, their eyes meeting his in wonder.

Being the extrovert of the two, Orion used his only hand that popped out of their conjoined sweater to shake his hand. Then nudging his sister, Elizabeth refused to do the same. "Stupid," Orion snickered. "Hey!" Elizabeth cried out.

Bill's eyes shifted over to the ground. He realized, with a dry mouth, that the girl didn't make it out as dandy as he wanted- just like her brother, she had problems as well. But hers was physical- even at this young age, Orion was taller than the girl- a growth stunt, beginning to take form. One leg, popping out just beneath the long over-sized sweater was amputated, replaced by a sleek black peg from the knee down. 

And in one hand, was a Black Labrador dog plushy. 

"Anubis," the girl announced when she saw Bill looking at the dog. 

She held it out for Bill to see. Bill stared at the dog in the eyes. It had a neutral expression, as most toys do. Bill patted the top of the plushy, just to make Elizabeth smile. "Cute friend," Bill complimented.

"Thank you, mister!" she grinned.

Pacifica laughed behind him. Bill stood up, stretching his back. "Your kids seem to be nice," he told the woman. He handed the suits to Pacifica.

"Wait until you see our house. It's a mess because of these two," the girl huffed.

"Nu uh! It was Liz!" Orion complained.

"Nu! It was Anubis!" Elizabeth cried out in surrender, holding out her plushy dog with one hand. 

Orion let his arm free from the sweater within, bringing his sister into a head-lock. "Liz did it, Liz did it, Liz did it!" he chanted, bouncing up and down with his sister's head underneath an arm.

"Alright, alright! It doesn't matter, you two! Let go of your sister!" Pacifica commanded. Orion did as told.

"Where's- where's your babysitter?" Pacifica added with a frown. Liz and Orion looked at each other. Two looks of _uh-ohs._

"Oh, great," their mother complained, "I have to fire _another_ babysitter?"

"If you want, I can babysit them. I don't even need to be paid," Bill blurted out.

Pacifica gave him a weird look. "No, we're fine," she assured him, "I just need to talk it out. But uh- nice meeting you, I guess."

Bill nodded, turning his head to look back at the twins. They were screaming at each other, snapping at one another. It reminded him of a certain pair of twins- or two pairs, actually. He promised to himself, keeping the words close to his heart, that he was going to protect these two meat-bags to the end of time. They were too precious.

He wasn't planning to fail another pair of inseparable twins.

"Well, I'll see you around, Miss Direction," he told Pacifica. He turned around, placing the Italian cut suit on a random table. He didn't need a suit right now. Maybe tomorrow, when he had the time. But he certainly didn't feel like buying something at the moment.

"Thank you, Bill," Pacifica whispered.

Bill almost stumbled through the doors of the shop. She knew.

She knew who he was. But while she knew his name, his past, his plans- she didn't know the crimes he had committed. She did not know that he was the reason why two children wondered why their other parent was never coming back, why she had to lie everyday to them, why a boy walked around wondering if his twin was ever going to streak pass. She did not know that Mabel Pines was waiting for her and their children on the other side, and he wished, with everything he had, that he did not freeze up at those words and instead told her that exact thing.

Bill pulled his hood up to his head. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked away. 

In, out. In, out. A deep breath after another. 

He was Bill Cipher. A dream demon. An overlord of so many dimensions. A person of respect, someone who was higher up in the chain than anyone on this godforsaken hologram of a universe. He was Bill. No one, _no one_ can manipulate him. 

Before he knew it, Bill was standing in front of a smoothie stand, ordering another drink. Another mango one, for the hell of it.

He paid, they gave them the drink, and Bill took a straw. He unwrapped it with little difficulty (an improvement from last time), and stuck it in to the cup. 

The demon sipped, letting the flavor coat his tongue. Chilly and cold, just the way he liked it. He wished he put in some multiple flavors in his drink, but that would take too long. Plus, he knew such flavors were to exist to amuse him.

Bill licked his cold lips, looking up just in time to bump into a chest, spilling his drink all over a white tee because the lid was not yet put on. 

"Fuck!" the dark-haired man yelped, stepping backwards in surprise as the coldness seeped through his shirt.

"Shit, sorry! I didn't see you!" Bill apologized, turning around to grab some napkins. 

He looked at boy out of the corner of his eye as he did so, inspecting him. He mused, with a sigh, that the boy could be another person he could try tonight. Dark flat hair, barely a hint of eye-bags, a confident lanky body, and of course, a white tee with light jeans. 

Bill turned back around to the boy, rubbing his shirt clean with the napkins. It was a trick that usually worked- pretend to be a little clumsy and flustered, and gentlemanly, and bam, you get a person for the night to take home. 

"I am so sorry," Bill apologized over and over again. Ugh. He hated saying sorry so many times. But he had to, didn't he?

The boy laughed, batting his hands away in a polite way. His shirt was stained yellow, sticking to his tall body damply. The napkins barely helped. "It's fine, really. I'm going to go home soon anyway."

"Oh," Bill blinked, throwing the napkins away in a nearby trash can. People passed them with side-ways glances, wondering what two twenty year old boys were doing right beside a smoothie stand. "Well, were you here to buy a drink?"

The boy grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. The collar of his shirt lifted down a little, and Bill tried his best not to stare, holding the boy's gaze. "Well, I mean, yeah, but I guess I better go home instead to-"

"No, no," Bill insisted. "I'll buy a drink. It's the least I can do."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

Bill shook his head, unzipping his yellow hoodie and tossing it to the confident bastard. As expected, and with a smile to himself, the boy took it gratefully and zipped it up to his own body. A bold man- maybe that could change Bill's mind about a certain other brunet. 

"C'mon, let's go buy you something. What flavor?" Bill asked kindly, taking the boy's wrist firmly to pull him to the thankfully short line. 

"Oh uh- I actually have no idea. I'd just let others pick for me, usually," the boy admitted sheepishly.

Bill hummed. A boy who likes to be pushed around a little. Perfect for bed.

"I suggest you try berry blast- it makes an explosion in your mouth," Bill said. Then with a chuckle, added, "not literally, though. But that would've been funner, don't you agree?"

The boy laughed. "Yeah, I guess. I've seen weirder things," he told Bill. "And hey, what's your name, anyway? You don't seem like a Gravity Falls resident," the boy said as an afterthought.

So Bill went with his cover story. "I'm German, actually. I moved here to visit, just to see America. I took English classes way back then, which can probably explain why barely anyone can tell I'm from Germany, the big country," Bill chirped.  The boy nodded along to his explanation, urging him to continue.

Bill hesitated, the words "I'm Bill Cipher" at the tip of his tongue. But it was possible that this man knew who he was, considering how he noted that Bill wasn't from Gravity Falls, implying that he was a long time resident. He needed a new start here. 

"I'm William," Bill informed the man, "Will, for short. I'd...much rather keep my last name to myself. It's a little personal."

He almost laughed out loud at the irony. He promised himself he would never, ever use his real name ever again. That name was toxic. The name his whole family and dimension knew him as and now this world will refer to him as William once again.

He was now William. Bill was gone. At least, for a while.

"Ah, I see," the man nodded. "Well, thanks for the drink, Will."

"Don't thank me," Will smiled modestly, "I'm the one who split my drink all over you. Yeesh, it was mango too- makes it look as if some kid pissed on you."

The man laughed. Before his companion could speak, as he opened his mouth, he was cut off. 

"What's up!" a boy hooted from across the mall, waving frantically at the man.

The dark-haired fellow craned his neck, lifting a hand in greeting. A string came up, a dark one- meaning that the boy was sporting a necklace underneath the shirt. Will looked down at his neck in mild curiosity, the line to the smoothie stand moving forward ever so slightly. 

He inhaled sharply, his blood running cold. The tips of his fingers were numb. 

There was a purple ring around the boy's neck- faint, but unquestionably noticeable. The ring was a mix of purple, black, and yellow- a red after-light highlighting the bruise. When the man swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbed, letting Will's eyes travel further up. There was an inverted V traveling all the way to the back of the man's neck. 

This boy had tried to hang himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wv rhp beixm alt szhhamgc agow'l ivxgzmglwl.  
> w jvu xhhv aicx alvl opbiqw ii p baz voska.  
> wu, vjk wsdr thty  
> obhtrr gr alt ofx wbfual gvj posge.  
> tnm zyvd i foi vvwi,  
> ak t evzxz was rnzx plotrz fx hwfh.


	4. A Blue Heart's Forlorn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to know:  
> -Bill is referred to as Will even in narration to avoid confusion during dialogue for your and my sake (you have no idea how many times I kept calling Will, Bill in Dipper's dialogue oml). Plus him being called Will is a huge plot point lol  
> -Panda God still loves you [why am I speaking in third person] all for the comments and kudos and I am so sorry for not replying to so many of them because oh my God my sanity is gone for good  
> -This chapter isn't that good and I'm sorry for that too  
> -Actually, this whole book isn't that good and it's confusing so yes thanks for putting up with me

_"I like to think that we had it all_  
_We drew a map to a better place_  
_But on that road I took a fall_  
_Oh baby why did you run away?_  
_I was there for you_  
_In your darkest times_  
_I was there for you_  
_In your darkest nights_  
_But I wonder where were you?_  
_When I was at my worst_  
_Down on my knees and you said you had my back."_

**[Maps | Maroon 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ix6RITXM0) **

* * *

Will could barely let the words out of his mouth the moment he saw those scars.

The thoughts that ran through his mind sped by so fast that it made him physically sick, to the point that he almost stumbled forward to grab onto the lip of the trash can to keep himself steady.

_No, no, no, no-_

Why? Why now? Why, when he _just_ came to Gravity Falls? Why him, why _him?_ Why, why, _why?_

Why fucking now, when he just GOT HERE?!

"Will? William?" 

Will's head snapped up in an instant, looking into the chocolate brown eyes that classified the man- no, _boy-_ as a Pines person. "Sorry," Will apologized, biting down the last of his nausea, "I just got a little dizzy there."

The brunet frowned at him in confusion and concern. "Are you sure you're alright? You seemed really sick to me. Are you sure you don't want to go ho-?"

 _"No!"_ Will snapped, making the brunet flinch. He cleared his throat. "I mean," he began, blinking, "no, I'm- I'm fine. Just let me buy you a smoothie- it'll make me feel better, at least."

Dipper smiled softly at him in gratitude. 

"Next!" called the mono-toned cashier.

Will and Dipper, thankfully, were next in line. Will bought his companion the berry blast flavored smoothie, paying for it with his very, _very_ full wallet. He saw the boy eye his wallet curiously out of the corner of his eye, but he pretended not to notice. To someone, a full wallet like his was very much impressive. But for some reason, the boy's eyes didn't held hunger or greed- as all of his old partners were like. Instead, they held the familiar curiosity Dipper Pines used to hold. 

A nerd, Will snorted, to this very day.

"There! How is it?" Will asked in genuine curiosity, handing Dipper the large cup. Though the brunet clearly expressed his disagreement with Will on the size of his cup (insisting that Will get him a medium or even a small), Will was too stubborn, giving him the largest cup of the smoothie stand. For himself, Will just took up a small cup of mango smoothie to replace the old one that got spilled. 

Dipper took a shy sip of the cup, walking towards the tables and chairs set up around the smoothie stand for costumers to enjoy. Dipper seemed to sit down on one of them, and Will sure as hell would've sat down to chat, if it wasn't for the fact that his heart was thumping way too fast for a normal human being to have.

"It's actually pretty good," Dipper chuckled, finally sitting down on one of the chairs nearest the smoothie stand. Will stayed standing up. Without a hoodie to shove his shaking hands into, the blond was forced to clench his fists instead.

"Will? Are you sure you're okay?" Dipper called out, looking up at the kind stranger who paid for his drink.

He didn't know why, nor did he care, but every time Dipper called him _Will,_ the dream demon couldn't help but flinch and feel as if another piece of him was being taken away- once more.

"I said I'm fine," Will responded, not unkindly. "I just- I'll see you around, right? I have to-"

"What? C'mon, dude!" Dipper whined. Will could feel his breathing come in shorter and shorter.

This- this boy. It wasn't Dipper. He could never be Dipper. Dipper didn't say 'dude' or grin like a high school student half way through his eighth drink or even _smile_ in the first place. But somehow, someway, this boy beaming at him expectantly, was _Dipper._

"No, really, I have to-" Will said quickly.

And he wasn't Bill.

Bill Cipher didn't say things quickly, Bill Cipher didn't give in to people without a good reason, Bill Cipher didn't buy _drinks_ for men he thought were worthy for a good night, Bill Cipher didn't _fucking have feelings._

But here he was, giving in to the smiling boy and sitting across from him. There was a reason why he chose William instead of Bill. Bill was dead.

He died two and a half years ago.

"Aw, see? There ya go!" Dipper grinned.

Will huffed for dramatic effect, causing the brunet to chuckle out a good laugh. A laugh, he had to admit, that he missed. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you want me to sit down with you?"

Dipper shrugged in response, swirling his smoothie around in the cup with his straw. The boy leaned back against his seat, and Will watched him carefully- for every move, for every sign of the old boy he fell in love with. The bags underneath his eyes- gone. The nervous tick of swinging his feet on the chair- gone. The nervous aura around the Pines boy- _gone, gone, gone._

What happened to the person he once loved?

"I wanted you to sit with me so we could chat, I guess," Dipper said nonchalantly. "I mean, you _did_ buy me a drink so the least I can do is chat you up."

Will couldn't help but grin, feeling his old personality come back. The shock of seeing Dipper almost immediately wore off, replaced by the cool nonchalance Will usually barricaded himself with. "Is this a booty call?"

To his utter amusement and relief, Dipper's face flared up with bright pink in embarrassment.

Will chuckled to himself. Dipper was still the biggest nerd he knew.

"What? No! I was just being nice, Christ," Dipper huffed. 

William laughed, taking a sip of his smoothie. He didn't know how he didn't get tired of the drink, but he was glad he didn't. He needed to look as nonchalant as possible, and without a drink, he knew that he would be fidgeting the hell out of his seat. "Well," Will shrugged, acting disappointed, "I was just saying."

Dipper rolled his eyes, mirroring Will and taking a sip of his own drink. He licked his lips afterwards, his left hand tapping a beat on the table in a rhythm Will faintly recognized. After all, all he had to listen to in his truck was generic pop songs and country songs that usually came up here and there. He could've bought a Lamborghini if he wanted, but he didn't want to attract too many attention- apparently, his face was so symmetrical (or "hot" as his partners called him, for some reason) that people flocked him with or without business suits and sports cars.

"So, tell me about yourself," Dipper asked, tilting his head to the side, "your job, your parents, how you like it here- all that shenanigans."

Will hummed underneath his breath, pretending to think. "Well, I'm currently unemployed, for one," he chuckled, "I'm on a vacation. For how long, I have no idea. I came to Gravity Falls because the voice in my head told me that I should try visiting this sad town- no offense, this place is great! And uh, I haven't seen my parents in a long ass time, to be honest."

And to be frank, it was half the truth.

Dipper nodded along to his explanations, taking sips along with his story. "You know, when I was eighteen, I tried learning German," Dipper said, almost to himself. His voice sounded far away, like he wasn't even thinking about what he was saying. "I- I don't know why," Dipper admitted, "it was just some sort of impulse to learn a new language and usually I'd pick something ancient like Latin or Greek but- ha ha, I guess Deutsche is a good one too."

Will, unconsciously, nodded along to his words while he played with his ring behind his cup. He felt twitchy, for some reason. He wanted to push Dipper's memories further, just out of curiosity, but he stopped the words coming out of his mouth before it was too late. The impulse to learn German- interesting.

"I'm glad another American is trying to learn some new beautiful languages," Will told him. "You all are too dumb and arrogant to try and learn an easy one."

Dipper laughed. "I'm not going to even try and disagree with that."

Then the brunet thought for a while. "Any pets?" he asked.

Will raised an eyebrow. "What?" Dipper asked, shrugging at his questioning gaze. "When I meet people, those are usually the first things I ask. Some sort of social interaction advice from my Grunkles."

"I have a dog," Will finally said. _A dog named Dip, actually,_ was at the tip of his tongue, but once again, held it back. It would be extremely creepy to say such a thing to Dipper, especially since Will wasn't even supposed to have met him before. A dog coincidentally named after his first name, a name that wasn't even a common one to begin with. "It's a female brown pitbull, I think. I never honestly bothered to make sure."

"Remind me to never bring you to the Shack then," Dipper told him with a light giggle, "I have a cat named Chip. Dunno how I got it- probably some stray cat I found one day. It's a grumpy little thing- it'll freak out if any type of animal bigger than him gets close."

"I can believe that," Will chirped. "my dog is no better. It'll chew your arm off if you try to pet it without warning. Or, with any indication for that matter. It just hates people."

"Sounds a lot like my Grunkle Ford," Dipper chuckled.

"And how about you? How is your Grunkle? Do you have another one?" Will blurted out. He couldn't help it. The last he heard from the old twins, Ford was taking care of a half-dead Stan in the hospital. He never knew if the tough guy made it.

Almost as if to confirm his suspicions, Dipper's eyes dropped to the table, no longer holding his gaze with confidence. He saw the pain in his eyes, and Will's stomach dropped.

He never really cared for Stan Pines, or Ford Pines even. He never really cared for anyone. But Dipper- if there was a second person out there who could make Dipper happy, it was his Grunkle Stan- or both Grunkles, for that matter. The two twins were the last piece of his childhood, and losing them would be like a punch to the gut. Or, even worse.

"Grunkle Ford is doing well," Dipper said with force cheeriness that reminded Will of a certain shooting star. Dipper's head lifted, and his eyes no longer held the pain from before. Will inspected his face closer. It took him a while to find the glass eye that marked the moment a part of Dipper's soul was ripped out from his body. "Grunkle Stan, Ford's twin- he's um, doing good too. He's- he's not aloud to leave the Mystery Shack, my home, without someone to watch him. His already weak heart might stop at any given moment."

Heart? No mention of the stabbing? Will couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. 

Will, instead of expressing this, nodded along to his words as usual. "Tell your Great-Uncle that I give all my condolences." The words sounded bitter to his tongue. Foreign.

"And how about you in particular? You never really gave me your name," Will added, adding in the words before he mentioned Dipper's name without the boy actually telling him.

Almost as if forgetting it himself, Dipper snapped up in attention. "Oh! Right, ha, sorry," he apologized, giving Will a sheepish smile. "I'm Dipper Pines."

Will smiled kindly at him, putting in all of his charisma into his radiant smile. Usually, it worked on every person he met. Even the taken ones. _Especially_ the taken ones. He loved fucking around with relationships. "Lovely name," Will purred.

But for some reason that confused Will ever so slightly, Dipper didn't even blink. Not a hint of a blush, not a hint of a discomfort. Dipper wasn't interested in William's games. It infuriated the demon, but he kept his anger on a leash.

He always gets what he wants. Always, always, always.

Letting Dipper go was merely a mercy. 

He was going to get the boy back in the end anyway. 

"Dipper's a nickname, in case you didn't know," Dipper continued, breaking Will's half-confused gaze to take a sip of his smoothie. "Like you, it's a little personal."

"I understand," Will nodded. He couldn't help but feel like a little boy at the moment. "But," he continued, his eyes still on Dipper, "it's nice to meet you." _Again._

Dipper smiled shyly at him. To his surprise, Dipper reached over with an arm, holding out his hand towards Will. After a moment, Will blinked, removing one hand from his lap to shake hands with Dipper.

The boy's hand was cool and firm to the touch, familiar but different at the same time. He could feel Dipper's faint heartbeat with how firm they shook, showing that Dipper got more confident without Will's help. Will didn't want to admit it, but he missed this. 

Suddenly, Dipper's working eye flickered to Will's hand. They narrowed in question. "You're married?" It wasn't demanding, nor did he sound upset. Just...curious. It rattled Will more than it should.

"Oh, no," Will assured him, removing his hand from Dipper's firm grip. He placed his hand on the table, glancing down at the ring set there. A silver polished ring, the glint never fading even after all these years. The yellow lined triangle was his favorite piece of art on the ring, and he would usually spend hours staring at it in the darkness when he felt alone. And sadly, he always felt that way. 

"It's-" Will swallowed. _A promise ring,_ he wanted to say. But it would raise too many questions. "It's a gift from a good friend of mine," he instead said. Dipper pursed his lips, nodding.

"It looks beautiful," Dipper whispered, almost in awe. But Will knew that wasn't the case- he knew the boy was just trying to be nice. "It must've cost your friend a whole house to spend that much money for that ring. That looks- that looks like real _gold_ on the triangle."

Will bobbed his head once in agreement. He remembered looking at the ring the moment he opened the blue velvet box. He remembered feeling a warmth spread through his chest, both from the love and genuine thoughts being put into the ring, and from the feeling that his Pine Tree even _thought_ of giving him something so- so _certain._ Real gold, handcrafted just for Will's ring size. He knew, without a doubt, that it costed the boy his whole future to spend something so grand.

The demon originally wanted to give him a future after that- a future where Dipper Pines was happy.

In order to give the boy that future, William had to stay away. But now he came back, for a reason he knew wasn't because of the deadline coming closer and closer. Something was wrong.

"If it this seems too personal, ignore me but," Dipper blinked, "who's the person who gave you that ring?"

"Are you asking because you want to meet them, or because you're curious?" Will teased with a dark undertone.

Dipper laughed softly. "A little bit of both, I guess."

Will smiled bitterly at him, taking off his ring to play with it, sliding it over his knuckles and in between his fingers. "Don't worry," Will said casually, "my friend- he's not here anymore. The chances of meeting him is pretty slim if you ask me."

"Oh," was all Dipper said. 

A silence fell over them like a blanket. Will continued to play with his ring, avoiding Dipper's eyes as best as he could. Dipper shifted in his seat, taking sips of his smoothie along the way. But despite avoiding the boy across from him, Will couldn't help but look from behind his eyelashes. Dipper was still sporting his yellow zip-up hoodie, casually resting his head on the table as he made patterns on the surface with a finger tip. A pout formed on Dipper's lips subconsciously, and Will had to look away.

"So, how's your life? Job, friends, family, kids?" Will said, the last part mostly a tease.

Dipper looked up at him with a mischievous look in his face. He lit up at the sound of Will's questions, grabbing the demon's attention as to why Dipper was acting so happy all of a sudden. "I'm a professor here in Gravity Falls, actually," Dipper chirped, "a substitute, most of the time, for History and Math classes. My job goes by pretty slowly, and the only way to pay off my debts and taxes is with my co-ownership with the Shack."

 _Nerd,_ Will snickered in his mind.

Dipper thought for a while before continuing, "My boyfriend and I were considering to buy a new apart-"

"BOYFRIEND?!" There was no doubt that the whole mall heard him.

Will's head snapped up to Dipper so quickly that it was possible that he got whiplash. His eyes widened, and Dipper smiled at him sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Will could feel his heart thump in his chest, his blood levels rising up above the charts. He could feel his magic going haywire underneath his skin, and he was suddenly glad that his magic was limited. Will would have blasted half of the mall by now.

"Well, yeah, I mean- everyone always gets so surprised when I say I'm gay and-" Dipper told Will almost warily. 

"No, no, no! It's not that, I promise," Will assured him, his left hand shooting forward to hold onto his smoothie cup. "It's just- you know." He waved his other hand around to prove his point pathetically. 

Dipper laughed at him. "It's a little underwhelming, am I right? My Grunkles both had heart attacks, even though one was perfectly healthy," Dipper said, his tone suggesting that he was amused. "They didn't really like him much, but I bet they'd warm up to him eventually."

"Yeah," Will breathed, willing his breathing to become even. "So I mean- well- I- why- how did that happen? When, why, how, who, where, _why?_ "

Dipper tilted his head to the side, his working eye flickering to Will's hand clutching tightly around his smoothie cup. He realized with a scowl, that his smoothie cup became so crushed underneath his fist that it broke the lid and spilled all over his knuckles, leaving a gooey mess of yellow liquid. But for Dipper's benefit, he looked up, and gave his most strained, fake smile.

"Damon," Dipper said, the name so _awed_ and _loved_ on his tongue that it made Will wither. "He co-owns the Shack with me, and lives there even. My Grunkles prevent us from doing anything more than PG-13, but we both want to wait anyway."

"That didn't answer _how_ you two became a thing," Will said, his words almost bitter even on the surface. To cover up, he added, "I bet it's a pretty cute story." Pathetic.

"Oh, well," Dipper said, laughing to himself nervously. "He um..."

Dipper shook his head, his voice failing him. The small smile that was permanently planted on Dipper's lips began to fade away as the boy dropped his chin to the table. He began to draw patterns again. Out of a new habit, Will guessed. But Will couldn't shake the feeling off that something wasn't right. And it wasn't just the fact that somebody else was tapping his ass than him- it was the fact that something was just straight up wrong.

"You probably saw the marks on my neck, didn't you?" Dipper asked, lifting his head up slightly to meet Will's eyes. The blond nodded.

"He saved me," Dipper whispered, his voice so low that Will had to strain his mortal ears to hear. "I tried to kill myself one day when- when my ex left me and- he was the only one left in the Shack for some poor girl's funeral and- well. To put it simply, he saved me. And I guess, I just- fell in love."

Every single word. Every single word spoken by Dipper Pines in that very moment- it shattered Will's broken heart even further. _Fell in love._ Dipper Pines _fell in love._ Without him. With someone else. And- and Will couldn't bring himself to be angry. 

He inhaled sharply. The poor girl's funeral, he realized, was Mabel's. 

His magic worked a little too well- to not just erase accurate memories of Bill, but of _his own twin._

_What had he done?_

Will felt his throat constrict, to the point that he couldn't even sip on his smoothie. It felt as if he was the one hanging himself, that he was in the one in the position he left Dipper. He deserved this in so many ways. More than those ways, in fact. He was a demon- a demon that could invade memories and minds, manipulate and twist others to do his work. But why- why bring the same punishment to the girl who deserved it least?

"William?" Dipper called out, frowning. "Dude, you seriously need to go home. You look sick."

"I'm fine," Will insisted, his tone clipped and short. "Really, I am. I was just- thinking of some things, Pi- Dipper."

"Hmm," Dipper harrumphed, his brow knitting together in concentration. "Well, if you're sure." The boy shrugged.

"Look, Dipper- it was nice meeting you and all but," Will rushed out, the words stumbling out of his mouth before he even knew what was happening, "I'm sorry, I just- I have to go, I need to talk to someone."

"What? William, wait-" Dipper called out, standing up from his seat right when Will did the same thing. Will saw him put a hand over the zipper of the hoodie, but Will was too occupied with his own magic acting up to care what he was trying to do. Before the two knew it, the blond boy turned around and fled, running away just as cowardly as two years ago.

He sped past vendors, citizens, stores, children, everyone. Everything was a blur as he felt the magic drum in his chest, in his veins, in his mind. If he didn't calm down, it was going to explode.

Will took deep breaths, weaving through crowds and stores. He didn't care where he was going. He didn't care if he ended up in a ditch. In fact, that was a place he was dying to go in at the moment. Will just needed somewhere, _anywhere_ he could have his mind to himself.

He grimaced to himself, clenching his hands tightly by his sides to prevent them from shaking any further. He would need to sleep in order to enter Shooting Star's mindscape again. That would mean napping in his old junk of a car again, but whatever. He'd figure it out.

Will, finally, came to a stop in a ditch. No one was around, the lights were shut off, and no stores was no where close to being opened just yet. A new construction site to be made, abandoned. 

The dream demon didn't even think as he took the lid of the garbage can nearest to him, ripped it off, and threw up.

Bile. Yellow bile was all that came out. He didn't eat since two days ago, if you didn't count the smoothies and coffees he had here in the mall. 

His throat scorched with the feeling, and his sides felt like they were on fire. His head felt hot to the touch, almost like it was put in an oven for a little too long. He felt horrid, and smelled like it too.

This, he thought with a cough, was what happened when limited demon magic was pushed to its limit. 

Someone gripped the back of his hair, rubbing circles and patterns on William's back soothingly as the demon threw up the rest of his ghost contents. They patted his back when he threw up once more, easing him as best as they could.

Will didn't care nor did it matter who the person was. He just knew for a fact that he was going to kill them afterwards anyway. 

"You didn't even take your hoodie back," a voice sighed behind him, sounding so much like a disappointed mother, "it still has that picture in your wallet."

 _Fuck,_ Will thought. He threw up. 


	5. Unloved Petals

_"He could be a sinner, or a gentleman_  
_He could be a preacher when your soul is damned_  
_He could be a lawyer on a witness stand_  
_But he'll never love you like I can, can_  
_He could be a stranger you gave a second glance_  
_He could be a trophy of a one night stand_  
_He could have your humor, but I don't understand_  
_'Cause he'll never love you like I can, can, can."_

**[Like I Can | Sam Smith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeugznpGKPA) **

* * *

****William sighed, taking another sip of his tea as Shooting Star started to explode.

"IS HE FUCKING _KIDDING ME_ RIGHT NOW?!" Mabel screeched, turning around in circles over and over again as she waved her arms around frantically like a drowning girl. But, you know, without the drowning part. 

But with the way she was panicking, she might as well have been drowning. Will watched her boredly.

"OH HEY MABEL, I'M SMART, I WON'T FALL FOR THE MEGA HUNKY CO-WORKER AT THE MYSTERY SHACK THAT YOU OBVIOUSLY SAID YOU HAD A SLIGHT MAN CRUSH ON, HAR HAR!" she rambled angrily, her irises blown wide with frustration. "OOH, OKAY, DIPPER, I TRUST YA. BUT OH LOOK, YOU FUCKING DATE HIM. I SAID DATE THE BLOND, DIPPIN' DOTS, NOT THE FUCKING ONE WITH BLACK HAIR! WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE?! NOT THIS! NOT FUCKING _THIS_!"

"Shooting Star, you seriously have to calm down, he's-" Will sighed, setting down the tea on his saucer.

"CALM DOWN?! JESUS CH- _BILL!"_ Mabel screamed, turning around to face her only friend.

The fire in her eyes, the look that just screamed at him to back away, it made him flinch. Mabel Pines was not a person who would get mad easily, but if she _did-_ it was likely for a very good reason. But, the situation at hand didn't seem like a reason why Mabel would get so worked up over. So her brother started dating someone else who definitely wasn't Bill- or uh, Will- why would she care?

"What?" Will asked in irritation. "And for the record, it isn't Bill anymore, Shooting Star- how many times do I have to remind you? Yeesh."

"Okay, _Will,_ " Mabel said sweetly, his new name foreign and bitter on her tongue. Will watched her, tilting his head slightly to the side in curiosity. Sure, he's been human for almost three years. But that definitely didn't mean he understood human emotions. He didn't understand why people cried over moving pictures that wasn't even _real,_ or why humans ravished over others' lives like their own. It made the dream demon truly confused. 

"How the fucking hell are you so calm over this, huh? Your soulmate is with another _guy!_ Doesn't that bother you, even a little?!"

Will bit down on his tongue, trapping the reply that almost came out. _Yes, yes it does. It almost made me burn down the mall while I laughed and watched everyone burn with it._ Instead, he had to go with, "Not really."

Sure, Mabel Pines was the only person he truly talked to openly for the past few years, and sure she was empathetic for him through everything, but for some stupid reason, _he couldn't tell her how he felt._ No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to just- _tell her._

Mabel, completely caught off guard by his casual response, raised both eyebrows at him in surprise. "Not-" she strained out, "-not even a little?"

Will leaned back against his chair, shrugging ever so casually. He placed the cup of tea on the table next to him. The cup didn't disappear, as it always did in Mabel's mindscape. Instead, it stayed, real and solid.

That, of course, was because they were in the very real and solid dimension of Earth. Not Mabel's fantasy world.

"He seemed content, believe it or not, Shooting Star," Will explained, his voice sounding bored to the touch. "That boy saved him. Why are you getting so mad at Damon, the guy who saved your idiot of a brother's life?" Still nonchalant.

Mabel frowned at him, floating over to his refrigerator and ultimately turning his back to him. She rummaged through his things, looking for food. Will was a little confused- she was a ghost here. She couldn't eat real solid things, could she?

"Trust me, Cipher, I owe him a life debt," she said, giggling at her own irony, "but Dipper's heart shouldn't be set on him. It should be on _you._ What even happened?"

Will thought about this for a while. After overcoming the shock of seeing an almost translucent Mabel Pines comfort him at the mall, with no one paying her no heed, Will told her what he knew about Dipper as soon as he drove to an apartment block. He was at the highest point of the building, thanks to his request and charismatic persuasion (he was surprised he didn't even need to use some of his magic to persuade the apartment lady). He barely told her anything -just in the middle of telling her that Dipper has a new boyfriend- before Mabel Pines exploded in a fit of rage.

Thankfully, before the rage era, Will convinced the brunette to tell him why she was floating like a ghost in the middle of this dimension casually like it was no biggie. The girl told him that his rage and uncontrollable magic somehow set something off in her mindscape, pulling at her seams and causing her agony for a full five minutes (Will was horrified, but Mabel brushed it off with a giggle). After that, she somehow gained the ability to project herself in the real world, but only to Will.

But even then, Will had to focus on her to see her. She was almost invisible, and invisible when light came upon her directly. It never seemed to bother the optimistic brunette, and she kept laughing happily in the car when Will drove her to the apartment. 

"That Damon guy saved your brother," Will told her, licking his dry lips. Dip, his dog, came through to take a sniff of his steaming tea. Will batted her away lazily. "Like I said, he tried to hang himself. Dunno exactly what happened but- that's all what the kid told me, at least. I marched off before he could tell me any more."

"Very professional, B- Will," Mabel snorted, the fridge shaking with the force of her looking through it like a rabid, hungry animal. Will still didn't question her. He was too used to her weird behavior. He didn't even know why she complied to his request on calling him "Will".

"Says the one who went ballistic because her pairing didn't get together," Will shot back teasingly. He moved his feet off the ground, turning his body so his head almost touched the cheap carpet and his feet were propped up over the chair. 

"It's called a ship, Will!" Mabel chirped happily, sounding more like herself than usual. "And, for the record, we're going to find a way to keep making it sail. And of course, to sink the current one."

"If you wanted to sink a ship so bad, you could've told me," Will whined, "I haven't blasted canons since the Renaissance era!"

Mabel laughed at his dim-witted mind, turning around to face him. To his surprise, she had a full turkey out, ready to be put into the oven. But because of her ghost-like properties, it was beginning to slip through her tight, shaking hands. A bead of sweat trailed down her temple, her arms shaking from the hardship. But the girl was smiling a wide grin that split her face. As usual. 

"Mabel Pines, you put that down," Will frowned.

"Oooh, the use-the-real-name-to-intimidate-them tactic! Very creative of you, Will," Mabel grinned. 

The blond rolled his eyes, turning his body around up-right to look at the brunette properly. "You're straining yourself. The turkey's going to splat on the germ-infected carpet, Shooting Star."

Mabel's smile wiped off of her face. Will got the feeling that it wasn't because of his words that made her upset, but the way he said it. Almost immediately, the girl put the turkey down on the counter with a plop, putting her hands on the marble to keep her upright. She looked at Will with a strange look. "Will," she said softly, "are you okay?"

His words sounded bitter, even to him. Empty of emotion, empty of love- while Bill Cipher acted like a optimistic sociopath who laughed at everyone's mistakes, Will was a human shell without compassion. 

"I'm fine, Shooting Star," Will sighed, waving a hand in her general direction without looking up. He stared at the ground, looking at his sleeping dog. Dip- named after the one boy he tried to forget, to erase. Even just a tiny part of him, the part that refused to live, loved the boy too much to completely let him go. It frustrated him.

"You're definitely _not_ fine, Will," Mabel snorted, her eyes brilliant with that brown afterglow. Like a firefly, ready to light up the darkness. So much like brother, who managed to change a heartless demon. _Just look at him!_

Almost as if on cue, Mabel's hand flickered, disappearing slowly like paint running on the wall. Will didn't waste any time, leaning forward and snapping his fingers, causing Mabel's projected "physical" form to glow bright, engulfed in blue fire. Then it was gone the moment it came, leaving a breathless, wide-eyed Mabel to stand in the middle of the conjoined kitchen with her form brighter than ever. It was like she was still alive. 

But her appearance flickered once more, changing to a much more translucent look. 

Will grimaced. "I can't make your appearance any more solid without corrupting you by accident," he explained to the shell-shocked brunette, "you might have to leave soon. It's the only way to guarantee you'd live."

"Live? Are you forgetting something?" Mabel giggled.

"You know what I meant," he scoffed. Mabel laughed. Of course, naturally, he had to laugh with her. A human life was too short to waste it on sulking all day.

"Since this is my apartment and all," Will began, smiling at Shooting Star, "I seriously need to ask. Why do you have my turkey out?"

"To make you dinner, of course!"

And to prove her point, Mabel bumped her hip on the old stove, propping it open. She laughed at the rusty noise it made, stuffing the turkey inside with a swift movement, closing the oven back up. She set the time, her back turned from Will all the while. 

Will's eyes half-closed in sadness. No one, _no one_ has ever- he gulped. He was getting sentimental. Nope. Demons don't get sad, or distressed, or heartsick. They just felt anger, possession, _power._

But why is it, that the Pines family could turn him into a blubbering fool in the matter of minutes without even realizing it?

"Shooting Star, you seriously don't have to make me dinner, I'm a big boy!" Will argued, sounding like a little kid even to himself. 

"But apparently, not a big enough boy to take care of himself and his lover boy!" Mabel crooned playfully, messing around with the knobs on the oven to get the right heating time.

"Will you just-" Will asked in exasperation, throwing his arms up in the air. "Ugh. Nevermind. Just- go back to your people and leave me to making my own goddamn turkey."

"Will, are you kicking me out of your apartment?" Mabel asked, her tone of voice suggesting she was offended. Will almost rolled his eyes at her dramatic innuendos. Well, to be fair, he was basically a dramatic young adult as well- like seriously, he cried out in anguish over nacho bags on the streets last week.

"Well- to put it simply, I mean- er- yes?" Will admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Don't tell me how to live my life!" Mabel gasped, turning around to face him. She put a hand over her chest, like a mother having a heart attack after their child told them they were moving out.

"You're dead," Will said bluntly.

"Well, if you insist," Mabel huffed, turning back to the oven. She crossed her arms, leaning against the counter to watch the oven turn red with the heat. The egg timer ticked to the beat of the clock on the wall, Will's leg shaking in anticipation and boredom. He propped his chin on his palm, looking up above the oven where the rusty old window was.

Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, people were chattering. It was a normal day here in Gravity Falls.

Under her breath, Mabel Pines sang a jolly tune, nodding her head along like she was in a concert. Will's other hand drummed on his knee to the beat of her song, his lips twitching ever so slightly in a slim smile. He wondered, even just for a moment, if everything was ever going to go back to the way it was. 

To when Mabel sung tunes in the kitchen making pancakes for her two favorite meat-heads, when Dipper read books and hunched over his laptop with weary eyes, when the Mystery Shack was buzzing with people downstairs, when Bill Cipher looked after everything like some sort of reverse guardian angel. 

His brow furrowed, frowning slightly to himself as he watched a blue jay zip past. Of course nothing could ever be the same. Things change. 

He took a deep breath, blinking away the sudden wash of tears springing to his eyes. It surprised him, but disgusted him even more. Will brought a hand over to his chest, right over his heart. 

He felt it pound in his chest in a simple, slow beat. One deep breath, one beat. One exhale, another. 

It hurt.

As worthless as that sounded to him, it was the complete truth. It hurt more than when he got banished and tortured before being thrown out of dimension. It hurt more than all the pain he went through in a trillion years.

 The demon almost barked out a laugh. His pain, caused by a mortal human being who didn't even _try._ Oh, his uncle would love this.

He clutched his chest, almost ripping the fabric with it. What kind of useless demon falls in love, anyway? Apparently him. Now look at what it's got him into.

"Mabel," Will whispered. It was quiet, a whisper that barely carried through the room. 

But of course, the girl heard him. "Hmm?"

"You have to leave, Star. Your form- I can feel it flickering," Will told her. He let out a low chuckle. "I can feel your pain from here, Shooting Star. You're trying so hard to stay."

The brunette, for once, had no words. Her humming stopped and her head banging froze. Although, she didn't bother to turn around to face the demon. She already knew why he wanted her gone. 

"If you can feel my pain," Mabel answered, craning her head over her shoulder to look at him straight in the eyes, "then I can feel yours too, Will."

Will tilted his head in challenge. His face split into a grin. He stopped fiddling and his knee stopped shaking. He was still as a statue. "Pain is comical as hell, Shooting Star!" he exclaimed with the same grin plastered onto his face. "Of course you'd be able to feel it!"

Mabel raised one eyebrow at him, turning her body around to face him. She leaned on her hands, firmly on the marble stone of the counter. Will suddenly found himself wishing that he never said that in the first place. The girl could see right through him, quite literally too. "You're angry," she said simply, stating it like she was stating the weather. "You want to curl up in a ball and cry yourself to sleep. You want to punch Damon in the face a bazillion times until no one could tell him apart. You want to have Dipper for yourself, and only yourself. Right?"

Will blinked. Once, then twice. Mabel giggled at his reaction. She shook her head, glancing right behind her once to check on the turkey. Still a couple hours to go, but Mabel Pines was efficient when it comes to food. "You keep forgetting I dated a girl who literally had boys and girls all over her twenty-four seven," Mabel laughed. "I know how it feels, Will. You keep getting this far-away look in your eyes and you keep shaking. Which, by the way, are two things you barely do."

"You're very observant, you know that?" Will frowned.

"So I've been told," Mabel said offhandedly. "I could tell you everyone's sleeping patterns here in Gravity Falls. Even their favorite colors! Oooh, did you know-?"

"I'm a dream demon, Pines, I know everyone's biggest secrets and sleeping patterns, thank you," Will snorted. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the rock-hard chair. He really should've found a much better apartment. But, this will do. Though he'd prefer a five star hotel with hot chicks and margarita.

"If you're a dream demon, then can't you just- you know?" Mabel blabbered, throwing her hands in the air as if to prove her point. Will watched her boredly. She scoffed, giving him an exasperated look. "Can't you just- poof yourself into Dipper's dreams and talk to him there? I mean, you have control over every mindscape- he can't slap you there with actual pain, probs."

"You think I haven't thought of that before?" Will sighed, running a hand through his hair. He shrunk in the chair, his shirt hiking up his stomach. "My magic is limited, Pines- but I still can visit mindscapes if I wanted. But it's a much more complicated...process. I won't risk it, not yet, at least."

"Well, bring me with you!" Mabel exclaimed. She put a hand over her heart, almost as if she was offended. 

Will smiled at her softly. Then, slowly, his smile began to fade. He averted his eyes away from her face, and Mabel watched him with a furrowed brow. "What?" she asked in confusion.

Will, finally, looked back at her. He tried not to show the pain in his eyes as best as he could, instead looking bored and nonchalant, as always. "Why are you so insistent on going to his mindscape with me?"

"First of all, I just asked once," Mabel snorted, crossing her arms over her chest in defense, "and plus, Dipper's my twin brother. I- I haven't seen him since- you know. It would be nice to see him again, even if it's just his mindscape."

"I would agree on that, for once," Will agreed, yawning deeply. He stretched his back, arms over his head. He tried to make this seem not as bad as it was. "But it's too dangerous. Bringing you with me means wasting more of my power, and that would mean we get less-"

Mabel rolled her eyes at him, bringing a palm up to her chest and pulsing.

Her translucent palm lit on fire. Blue fire, like his.

She clenched it into a fist, letting the fire disappear into a cloud of smoke. "Now," she purred innocently, tilting her head to him, "what were you saying?"

Will looked at her with a simple raised eyebrow. "As I was saying," Will began, refusing to look surprised, "it would cost us too much magic and might-"

"On and on and on!" Mabel groaned, throwing her head upwards in frustration. "Bill, you _just_ saw me use my own magic! Technically, it's yours, but your magic must've seeped through me and gave me my o-"

"What did you just call me?" Will demanded. 

Mabel looked at him in confusion. Then his words sunk in, and she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I meant _Will,_ " she apologized, giving him a wry, cocky smile. She wasn't taking this seriously. "Does it even really matter? It rhymes. Will, Bill, Will, Bill. You know what, I'll just call you Bill. Bill Cipher. Because technically-"

A vase smashed the floor. 

Will was standing upright, breathing heavily as the smashed vase stayed at his feet. "Do. _Not_ ," Will hissed, " _call me that ever again._ "

Mabel looked genuinely surprised at his outburst. She took a step back, her form flickering once, then twice, before staying put. "Will," she said softly, "calm your ass down. I was just teasing y-"

"Then don't ridicule me!" Will snarled, flicking his wrist casually. The vase turned blue, encased in a bubble. It put itself together, floating upwards and taking its place back on the small table it belonged on. "How many times do I have to remind you, that you're a stupid ghost trapped in your own mind _forever?_ Bringing you into another mindscape is too _dangerous!_ "

The brunette watched him carefully, a small frown playing on her lips. She opened her mouth. "This is about something else. Isn't it, Will?"

Will took a deep breath, counting backwards from ten to calm himself down. Mabel Pines had a very good way in knowing if someone was keeping secrets. A dream demon was no exception for her.

"When he was telling me about his past," Will whispered, almost shamefully, "he noted that he tried hanging himself on the same day of a poor girl's funeral."

"So? What does that...?" Mabel asked him, a look of confusion firmly planted on her face. Then she pondered over his words, and her look of confusion changed into one of disbelief. 

"He doesn't..." She gulped once, her chocolate brown eyes wide with innocence. It made Will's heart ache. "He doesn't...remember me?"

Sadly, and in defeat, Will shook his head. "No. There wasn't a hint of recognition in his eyes, Mabel."

"What?" she whispered, almost in fear. "How? How, Will? Why doesn't he- did he- oh my God, is he-?"

Will inhaled, his pounding heart aching badly in his chest. He was getting tired of this human body. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, stepping backwards and letting his body crash to the stiff sofa chair. "It's my fault, Shooting Star, not yours," he said tiredly. "My magic must've erased the memories of you too. Not just mine. If he cared about you so much- it was possible my magic must've picked up on that instead."

Mabel's appearance flickered. For a longer time than last time, her embodiment becoming more and more transparent. Both of her hands were up to her mouth, her eyes wide with tears springing to the corners. "Mabel, I'll get them back," Will soothed her, startled by her quivering form. "It isn't that hard, I just need-"

"You have to bring me to his mindscape, Will," Mabel demanded. 

Will opened his mouth to respond. "I just told you, it would be _suicide_ if I-"

"Dude, I'm already dead," Mabel said with an eye-roll. "The worst that could happen is that I disappear. But I'm already down that road. I don't give a fuck anymore, Will."

Will huffed. "Fine," he gave in with a growl, "I'll bring you to his mindscape. But not now. You're collapsing, kid."

As if on cue, Mabel's appearance flared bright, up to the point that Will had to look away and blink. When he looked back at her, she was nearly transparent. He had to narrow his eyes to see her properly, even for a little bit. The light was making her look invisible.

"Okay, so maybe I am," Mabel said in defeat, looking down at her own palms in confusion. "But- you promise, right? That you'd let me see him?"

Will chewed down on the inside of his cheek. "We can't let you see him," Will whispered, "if he sees you, it would trigger his mindscape to shift- it'll trap us if everything rearranges, kid. We have to go in, then out. No funny business."

"That sounds odd, coming from a person like you," Mabel smiled. 

"I'm...not a person," Will said in confusion, tilting his head.

Mabel laughed, passing through the counter completely. It didn't even seem to bother her as she made her way over to him. "The wallet, Will."

Will's mouth clenched shut in confusion. He gave her a questioning look. "What wallet?"

"The wallet." She rolled her eyes at his incompetence. "You gave him your hoodie, didn't you? Didn't I _just_ remind you about this when you were spilling the contents of your dinner in the mall?"

Will's stomach wiggled and churned at the memory. But, it also flipped at the sudden thought. He let Dipper have his hoodie. Sure, he could always get another, but-

"The picture."

He swallowed. Those two words felt tart on his tongue. _The picture._

He had Dipper's picture in his wallet, and it was with Dipper now, in his own hoodie pocket. Oh no, oh no, oh no-

"Well no shit, Sherlock," Mabel huffed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face- or at least that's what Will thought she did. He could barely see her, even with her a few feet away from him. 

Both people, the blond and the brunette, stayed quiet, letting the birds' chirps fill the air. It was October, winter just around the corner with the colorful leaves taking place just for a couple more weeks. But even then, the birds were stubborn, still holding on to the hope that summer was still here. Will didn't know whether to call them stupid, or very hopeful. No- both was good.

"I miss him," Will breathed.

Mabel gave him a sad look. "I know," she whispered. "I could tell."

"I miss him," Will repeated, the words heavy in his throat. He dug his nails into his scalp, letting his head down. "I miss him, I miss him, I miss him."

Mabel narrowed her eyes, floating over to him. She knelt, putting a hand on his knee. "Aw, come on, dude," she soothed, "cheer up. It's- it's not like he died. I mean, we just found out he was alive this whole goddamn time this morning. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I am," he growled, the words sounding like it should come from a two year old child. "But- but he's not the same, Mabel. He's so- he's not _him_ anymore, you know?" He lifted his head up to look at Mabel. He looked into her eyes, Pines eyes. The same ones he spent years swearing revenge over, until he started to fall for them on a young boy. "I miss him, Mabel. The old him."

Mabel's eyes flashed with a renewed anger. He didn't understand why she was so angry, up until she stood up from her spot next to him to pace his dirty carpet. "Ugh!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "You know what? For now on, I'm going to be your stupid companion, Sherlock. Your Watson. We're going to take down Damon Something Something Last Name if it's the last thing we do!"

Will couldn't help but smile softly at her determination. "Mabel Still Cockblocking Pines," he drawled out, "back in business- but with Damon instead."

"You got that right," Mabel grinned, turning around to face him. Then her smile dropped slightly, looking at him. Even if she was smiling and reassuring him, Will knew there was nothing to be done. 

His blue-cracked eyes were livid with red- not from puffy crying, but from the anger contained in them. He was craving belligerence. Something he hasn't craved in a long, long time.

Mabel's form flashed bright. She was beginning to crumble and disappear. The girl, as a last resort, reached out for him. But the moment she saw his eyes-

"Will?" she whispered. _"William?"_

William shook his head, standing up from his spot on the rocky couch. 

_"Versuchen Sie nicht, mich zu stoppen, Shooting Star."_


	6. Cherished Needles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, you guys. I want you all to do something right now. Find a muffin, or even multiple- buy one from the store if you don't, or take one from Dinkleberg's house. Heat that lovely piece of fine art up. Go to your room, or the bathroom for all I care. Eat it, savor it. All of you should relax, wind down, know that everything is going to be fine. :) Cough cough, not in this book though, cough cough. 
> 
> All the while, go to https://www.instagram.com/fox_iyuzani/ and listen to that girl's covers and music, she's freaking lovely and her birthday was just on May 4! She's a friend of mine and all her covers make me want to melt into goo tbh. (*⌒▽⌒*)θ～♪ You won't regret it, I pinky swear! (If you DO listen to my advice that people ignore half the time, tell her Panda God sent ya lol).

_"My friends and family_  
_They don't understand_  
_They fear they'll lose so much_  
_If you take my hand_  
_But, for you_  
_Ooh, you_  
_Ooh, I'd lose it all."_

**[Budapest | George Ezra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ5k_fvscJk) **

* * *

****He couldn't help but wonder why he decided to come here in the first place.

After all, it's been two and a half years. 

What if he didn't remember him? What if he scolded Will to the grave and never wanted to talk to him ever again for abandoning him like this? What if he started _crying?_

Oh boy. Will was a person of many things- a whore, a thug, an overlord. But, the only thing he wasn't was a good comforter. Or, a person who can keep their lover for more than two months for that matter.

Well, it was too late to back up now. He was already at the front steps of the building and it would seem odd if he just drove away after parking there for several minutes. 

Sadly, Shooting Star couldn't make it to go with him to this fine expedition. He hoped with all his might that she would appear and help him out in this situation. Of course, it was because she was an expert in these kinds of things, a set of knowledge Bill Cipher didn't know before, and neither did Will. Of course, she couldn't make it because she was still cooling down from being out in the open for so long last week. 

After she disappeared into thin air, Will spent his days preparing. Every night, he tried to come back into Shooting Star's wonderful wonderland as he did every night, but it was to no avail. He kept waking up with pounding headaches, cursing to himself as he rubbed his forehead with the base of his palm. The girl must have projected herself in the real world for so long that her wonderland went into emergency mode- not letting any other mind in, or out. 

Will glanced at the yellow bricked construction. It's been so long.

'Little Lamby Daycare' was sprawled in cursive.

Will looked down at his right hand. Across his palm was a slash, like what you would see on someone who just made a sacrifice with their blood. He grimaced. He was hoping to patch that up before he got here, but some...things came up that made him too busy to notice. Hopefully, none of the kids would mind him. If they even remembered him, or if the same sets of kids were even there anymore.

Will got out of his car, ducking his head and slamming the door close. He locked the doors of the car, hearing it beep once satisfactorily before turning around to face the daycare. For effect, Will took a deep breath, letting the calming scent of fresh air calm him down. Faintly, he could smell fresh cookies. 

The same billboard he found so long ago informed guardians and parents that today was 'free time day', meaning that every kid got to bring anything they want as long as it was appropriate and play with that all day long, instead of the usual leisure activities the kids were forced to do.

Will tilted his head. He wondered what the rascals brought in. Hopefully, one of them brought a sword. Yes. Violence was amazing.

The demon walked up the front steps of the building, feeling his heart hammer in his chest like a beating drum. It was a constant reminder of his unconscious fear, and he hated that. Why did humans have to be reminded of their own body all the time? Yeesh. 

He pushed open the doors with a shoulder, grunting under his breath. He was still sore from what he did last night, but he had to endure it if the kids in this building were anywhere close to being as energetic as the ones he babysat. He almost chuckled under his breath. Babysitting, was a very weird word for taking care of undeveloped humans. 

"Oh, hello! Are you here to pick up your child or to volunteer for the day?" a girl asked cheerily, lifting her head up to meet his eyes. She was red-headed, just like dear old Wendy.

The same girl he met last time. And, it seems, he wasn't the only one who noticed. 

The girl's eyes widened. She stepped backwards, and Will opened his mouth to say a quick response, or at least say some quick witty words before he manipulated her mind to disguise himself in her mindscape. But thankfully, he didn't need to do any of the hard stuff.

The girl was merely surprised by his eyes. Blue, cracked like lightning or a broken antique. His eyes were the most alluring part of his body, as most people captivated themselves in them, never leaving their own normal colored eyes to his superior ones. 

"I- I'm sorry, it's just that- that I've never seen those kinds of-" the red-head stammered bashfully.

"No, no, it's okay," Will assured her nonchalantly, waving a hand in dismissal. He arranged the cuffs on his black blazer, averting his strong gaze away from the girl's. On top of his head, he wore his top hat. He looked exactly like the kind of man who would take any girl to bed, and that's exactly what he did for a living nowadays. He could tell the girl in front of him was becoming very uncomfortable. He smirked to himself. Oh, he loved this game so much.

"I'm here to pick up a kid. Not mine, but a friend's child," Will added, looking up to meet her eyes through his eyelashes in an almost flirting manner. "Do you mind it if I let him out right now? I'd like to take him out for ice cream," he pleaded, rumbling his voice lower, to make him sound more more male, more bold. 

The red-headed girl _definitely_ looked uncomfortable at this point. He amused himself with watching her shift her weight from foot to foot in nervousness, her eyes darting around like she was trying to find an escape route. He knew, of course, that letting a child out without the parents' direct permission was forbidden here. And he knew, of course, that he could have simply said he was a parent picking up his child or made a fake permission slip from said parent. He loved it this way more.

"I- ice cream? Surely, you know that-" the girl stuttered uselessly.

"Oh, I know," he assured the girl, softening his eyes to seem more like a gentleman. But he made sure to keep his shoulders squared, his chin held up high. "But, my friend's child- I haven't seen him in a long while. I'd like to surprise him. You seem like a very lovely girl. You wouldn't mind doing this one favor for me, won't cha?" That was half the truth, at least.

"W- well, it's against the daycare's policies to be taking out a child without direct permission from the guardians or parents s- so I-" the red-head squeaked.

Will tilted his head innocently, letting his hair fall over his face delicately. Over the years, he realized that something about his appearance just made people _swoon._ He thought of it as a curse for a long while, before he realized that he could get many things with this kind of gift. It was funner than using magic too.

"Please?" he asked, sounding legitimate and innocent. His voice came out like a purr.

"W- well, alright, I suppose. But no longer for two hours, all the parents are-" the girl whispered, as if she was about to be caught selling drugs. She might as well be. If it was against the policies to be doing this, then she was surely going to get fired if she was exposed. And this girl has been working here for more than two years, it seemed, and losing this job might cost her everything. Will almost felt bad. Almost.

"Alright, thanks!" he beamed, walking past her and planting a kiss on her cheek.

Will, as soon as he was out of the eye's view of anyone but the bulking door holding the kids inside, swiped at his mouth. He grimaced. Even after all these years, he hated doing such a thing to people for favors. Whether that was kisses on the cheek, on the mouth, somewhere more private, he hated it.

But, for now, he should really stop complaining and get on with it. He procrastinated enough, he supposed. Will sighed, and pushed open the door to the room full of kids. 

Screams of joy and cheeriness filled the air, and Will's chest immediately swelled at the sight. Nothing, absolutely nothing, has changed in his eyes. Kids were still split into the same groups of kids, with the quiet ones drawing, the louder ones screaming and running, and the social ones milling around with different games. Since it was a free time day, kids had brought their own things. Some brought super-sized packages of crayons, some had brought board-games, and some had even brought knitting tools to teach their fellow daycare mates. Kids, ranged from four to ten, seemed to never have changed.

His eyes scanned around for one particular person. 

A green shirt- nope, a different boy with blond hair. Chubby cheeks- a crying girl. Black pupils- some kid playing with foam bricks. Too many kids running around for Will to keep track, and he felt his heart drop to his stomach. 

Finally, his eyes shifted over to the lone red table in the corner of the room. Over there, sat one kid. A boy with an over-sized green shirt, with an 'I' on it, it seemed, and messy brown hair that the kid didn't seem to care about. There were eye-bags embedded deep into the child's cheeks, making the boy seem older than he was. But, either way, he looked the same. 

Will smiled warmly. He told himself he came here to apologize, to assure the _boy,_ not himself. But he didn't realize that the trip here was for himself too, to finally put his mind in peace. He didn't realize that the feeling of betrayal and guilt was writhing itself in his stomach this whole time.

He knew exactly what it was like to be abandoned. 

Will gulped, wringing his hands together as a nervous tick. Should he come over and pick him up or just shout for him? Ugh. 

"JJ? Someone's here to pick you up," the red-headed girl said next to him, startling the blond boy just slightly. Oh, right. He must've made it obvious when he kept looking like he wanted to run over to that kid. 

JJ's head turned upwards at his name, his eyes bright despite the obvious tiredness deep within. William almost smiled. Just like Dipper.

The boy pointed to himself in cute confusion, stuttering on his words. "M- me? But Dad said-"

"I'm very sorry JJ, I know how much you love drawing and not being interrupted," the girl said in apology. She glanced at Will, a small frown playing on her lips. She was still doubting him, if he was some abductor with extremely good looks or an actual friend of JJ's parents. "Your....parents' friend is here to take you."

JJ, obviously not recognizing Will, glanced at his old friend for a good two seconds before looking back at his caretaker with absolute no recognition in his eyes. Will felt a bubble of frustration and sadness in his stomach. Two of his own identities, feeling two different things- Bill Cipher wanted to slap the kid, Will wanted to hug him.

"It's okay, I won't hurt cha," Will chuckled, bending his knees to get down to JJ's level. The kids around paid no heed to the caretaker and the new handsome arrival, minding their own businesses and only paying enough attention to cast glances and a few hushed whispers. JJ, on the other hand, seemed a little uncomfortable, but got up from his seat anyway.

He brought along a green backpack, stuffing a very detailed half-finished drawing of a Balinese cat into it. He bounced over to Will, swinging his backpack over both shoulders and tightening the straps as he did so. 

JJ's eyes met with Will's. After a long second that Will felt was a little too long, JJ held out a hand. There was no malice in his eyes, or even recognition. Just friendly, kid manners. "I'm JJ. It's short for Jesus Stan Reyes-Garcia Ramirez."

Will almost choked on his spit. But, he of course took hold of the little boy's hand and firmly shook it. "Long name," he commented. JJ only introduced himself as Jesus Junior last time. "Where did uh, Reyes-Garcia come from?" The 'Stan' part of the name was self-explanatory.

"Mom's side of the family," JJ smiled. "I memorized my full name when I was six and a half. I had trouble pronouncing Reyes when I was little, and my parents made me go to speech therapy for a few weeks." The boy's voice was deeper slightly, just a little to make him sound a little more mature. Will knew for a fact that the boy might grow up as a professor, or at least as a person who lectured others in boring topics with flying colors. 

"That's nice. Are you still having trouble?" Will asked kindly, getting up from his bent-over spot on the floor. He put a hand on JJ's back, ushering him out the door. Before they were fully out though, Will craned his neck to look at the girl who helped him. She looked physically sick to her stomach, torn between coming after them and letting them go. He almost cackled, knowing perfectly well that his charms weren't the only thing that made her like this- it was the soft caress of his magic that made the caretaker confused. 

Will winked at her, ushering himself and his old friend out the daycare.

"So, where are we going, mister?" JJ asked, sounding a little curious and excited at the same time. Natural child curiosity- it can kill a child, or save them.

"I'm going to buy you some ice cream. I thought you wanted a little break from the daycare for a bit," Will answered truthfully. 

JJ pouted. "But I wanted to finish my cat drawing," he mumbled grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest. Will chuckled. "Who's the drawing for?" he asked in genuine curiosity. Will, intentionally, made them go on the other side of the street, knowing perfectly well of the crime on the opposite road. He put his hands on JJ's shoulders, steering him to the corner of the street. He saw an ice cream shop on the way here.

"It's for my parents," JJ spoke, sounding exceedingly proud of himself. "I even made a PowerPoint! I want to get a cat, but my mom's a little allergic, so I researched a bunch on cat breeds that were hypoallergenic. I found out that Balinese cats were among those types, and a lot of people think that allergies come from the fur, but it's actually not, it came from-"

"Whoa, hold your horses, kid," Will chuckled, pulling him to the right when he started to wander to the road. The ice cream shop was just about a block away now. "Since when did you want a _cat?_ "

"Ever since my godfather showed me his own cat!" the kid chirped. JJ kicked a rock in the road, letting it skid a few feet before he kicked it again. "It was so _cute!_ It even has this little triangle shaped thing that feels so fluffy!"

Will chuckled. "What did your godfather name it, Triangle?" he teased.

"Nope," JJ said, popping the 'p'. "He named the cat Chip."

Will almost stopped in his tracks. Chip. _Chip._

He shook it off, brushing it aside like it was no big deal. "So uh, JJ," Will began awkwardly, coughing into a fist. "What flavor of ice cream do you want?"

JJ pondered over this for a while. "Can I have vanilla and chocolate? Mom almost just gets me only one flavor, and I want both," he whined. 

Will frowned. "Absolutely not!" he snapped.

JJ's face fell. Will, on the other hand, smiled. 

"Why not every flavor?"

JJ's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really?!" he gasped, turning around to face Will. He kept walking backwards. Will watched over his shoulder, watching to make sure he wouldn't trip on anything while he couldn't see in front. "Yes, really," Will said nonchalantly, brushing past JJ to turn around on one corner of the street.

They were right in front of the ice cream shop. Thankfully, only two other people were in line, an elderly couple already ordering their ice cream. There were some benches all around the street for the ones who wanted to wind down. It wasn't too chilly outside, nor too hot. It was the perfect day for ice cream.

They got in line, watching as the elderly couple left with their waffle bowls full of chocolate mint, laughing to themselves and talking about their lives.

"Two quadruplet scoops please- strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, and butterscotch. Fill the waffle cone with syrup inside," Will ordered, placing a fifty dollar bill on the counter. The woman took it with a nod, punching in their orders in the cash register and disappearing in the back.

Beside him, JJ bounced up and down like an excited child- which, technically, he was. 

"So how are your parents doing? Your sister?" Will asked kindly, making small talk in case the kid was feeling a little uncomfortable with the silence. He knew very well that the boy loved talking about his life. It seemed that no one really cared about his home life, even though he clearly wanted to express it.

"Oh, they're doing awesome! We all moved back here in Gravity Falls just two months ago, actually! They missed this town, especially since I begged to come back," JJ grinned. "My little sister is doing okay. She's friends with these twins in the daycare too. I'm friends with them too. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine, I guess!"

Will smiled at his enthusiasm. He nodded along to his words, encouraging the little boy to speak a little more as he wished. "I didn't know you weren't actually a permanent resident of Gravity Falls," William mused. 

JJ's brow furrowed in slight confusion at his words, and Will mentally slapped himself. Right, ugh. "Well, yeah, I mean," JJ began, "I was born here, but my parents moved away with me. We weren't even supposed to be here, but they decided to move back into my dad's old mother's house."

"What do you mean, weren't supposed to be here?" Will asked with a frown.

JJ gave him a weird look. "I-" he began. He tilted his head to the side, thinking about it for a while. His eyelids lowered, closing half-way. It wasn't long before Will saw a glisten in them. The boy was on the verge of tears. 

Before Will can soothe him, JJ spoke. "She died."

"Excuse me?"

JJ shook his head slowly. "They tried to keep it from me, but I'm smart," JJ spoke softly. "They told me she was on vacation, that she'd come back. But I know that if she was on vacation, my godfather wouldn't look so sad everyday. Dad says she never left. I believe that. But I know she's dead."

Will swallowed, lifting his chin slightly to look into the ice cream shop. Just in time too. The worker came back with two tall ice cream cones, balancing them in her clenched fists with a nervous look at the tower. "You're...smarter and more wiser for a kid your age," Will commented.

"I get that a lot," JJ said in pride. 

Will snorted, shaking his head. He took one of the cones, taking the other and handing it over to JJ. He told the worker to keep the change, leading the both of them to the farthest bench. He wanted to chat with JJ freely, and one way to do that was to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. It was a little paranoid for him, but he couldn't care less.

Soon, they were sitting under a tree, providing shade even with the sun barely peeking over the trees itself. They were hidden away from most people, if there were even people around in the first place. At a time like this, everyone was still at work or school. Which provided the first question.

"Why doesn't your parents let you go to school?" Will asked JJ.

"I'm home-schooled," JJ answered, licking his ice cream. There were residue all over his mouth, leaving sticky imprints on his chin and jaw, but the boy didn't seem to care less. "Besides, my godfather's a professor. He teaches me everything. Even though he says it's high school level, he'd try and teach me."

JJ thought quietly for a while. "I'm not that smart though. Every time he tries to teach me, I'd just end up sleeping," he said again. "Dad says it's normal for kids like that. Instead, I got the unnatural gift of handy-work and being a jack of all traits."

Will laughed. Typical. "I guess you got that from both of your parents, kid," he chuckled.

JJ turned to look at him, a strange look on his face. He tilted his head to the side, Will raising an eyebrow at him in return. "Uh, mister?" JJ asked. "Hmm?" Will hummed, flicking sticky ice cream off of his finger. 

"Who _are_ you?"

Will stopped mid-flick, his eyes going to the concrete ground. This was bound to happen, of course. This whole time, JJ didn't know who he was, and the smart kid was going to ask at some point or another, at least.

He didn't change much over the years. He was still recognizable as Bill, just as Pacifica had seen. But the young boy was only five when he saw Bill, and now he was staring at the same person with a different soul. It could be possible that the boy's less than half developed mind would forgive him, or even barely recognize him. 

Out of reflex, and because he needed to explain everything first, William spoke the first words he hadn't said since stepping foot here in Gravity Falls. "I'm Bill Cipher."

Then almost immediately, the kid's eyes widened. "Wh- B- but I thought- you-" he sputtered. 

Will, taking this as a good sign, stood up and stretched. He gave the kid a lazy grin. "Yeah, yeah, glad to see you too kid, I-"

He got kicked in the balls. Hard.

He heaved, dropped his perfectly good ice cream to the ground with a splat like blood hitting the floor. He didn't even have time to cover his private parts out of reflex when another kick took its place back where the sun didn't shine, making him howl in pain.

"I-" Will wheezed, taking a shuddering breath in, "I- I don't like this-" He wheezed again, " _pain._ "

JJ reeled his foot back, ready for another kick. His face was a mask of madness, red as a tomato. 

"No, JJ, _wait-_!" he called out desperately. 

The boy booted him hard, forcing Will to the floor in pain. It shot through his whole body, jolting him. Oh Jesus Christ. Not even the _demons_ could hit him this hard.

"You left me!" JJ screamed, "I kept coming back to the daycare hoping you'd come back to help me with my art and to talk but _you never came back!_ What the fuck is _wrong with you?!"_

Will wheezed, struggling to get up back to his feet. But he stayed on the floor, looking up at JJ. "D- don't-" he got out, coughing. "-say bad words like that."

JJ's face turned redder in frustration. "Two and a half years! You left for two and a half _years_!" 

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, that's why-" Will sputtered out.

JJ reeled his foot back. 

Will, out of reflex, got up and tackled JJ, getting him from under the armpits and lifting him up.

The boy thrashed around, kicking and screaming and slapping Will across the face several times. It didn't bother Will much as it did irritate him. His eyes glanced to the floor, grimacing at the ice cream splattered all over the concrete. Some poor kid was going to find that and howl in anguish, he was sure.

"No, no, let go of me! Let _go_ of me you big oaf with stupid hair, GET OFF!" JJ yelled. 

"Not until you calm down," Will sighed. 

"I AM CALM!"

"If you're calm, then I'm a virgin."

"WITH THAT FACE, OF COURSE YOU ARE!"

"I happen to have a partner for every night, thank you very much."

"THEN YOU'RE A SLUT!"

"Please don't slut-shame me."

JJ slapped him across the face, making Will sigh in resignation. JJ backhand slapped him.

"JJ, please stop, I just-" Will soothed.

"HELP! HELP! THIS MAN IS TRYING TO- TO UH- TAKE MY SAUSAGES!"

Will rolled his eyes, letting the boy drop to the ground softly. "Are you calm _now_? Come on JJ, let's just talk this-"

JJ whirred around to face him. Will's muscles tense, ready to grab him again to restrain him if needed. But the sight made his brow pull together in worry- JJ was crying.

"You were my only friend," JJ sobbed, "and then you left me without saying goodbye."

Will inhaled sharply. Those words sounded a little too familiar for him. He blinked, kneeling down and giving the boy a big hug. Of course he realized that he left this kid for dead. Of course he knew that the boy would be upset with him. But he didn't know that the effect would be so much like...

"I'm so, so sorry," Will breathed, holding the boy closer to his chest. "I didn't mean to leave like that, I promise you. Things just came up and..."

He didn't realize JJ was hugging him back until he felt tears soak through his shoulder. "I thought you were an imaginary friend," JJ whispered.

JJ hugged him tighter this time. "Thank you for not being imaginary," he said again, his words soft and quiet.

Will, before he got get too sentimental than he already was, let go of JJ to look at him in the eyes. "You were nothing but a nuisance all summer long when we hung out," Will began, taking his hat off his head to give it to JJ. "But I'm glad you were there because no chaos was terrible for the soul."

JJ grinned a watery smile at him, wiping at his eyes. He pushed the brim of Will's top hat up, so his eyes could still see. Will smiled at him, his hands firmly gripped onto the boy's shoulders like a proud father.

He didn't realize his sleeves were hiked up until JJ's eyes flickered over to them.

"Bill, why are you-?"

"No, no," Will cut off, shaking his head. "Listen to me good, alright?" JJ nodded his head in confusion. He could feel knots making its way to his stomach. Again, something was wrong. 

"Please don't call me Bill ever again," Will whispered, "Call me Will. It doesn't matter why- I'll tell you when you gr- when you're ready. I'm a top secret agent and that's why I left the way I did."

JJ's eyes glittered in awe. "A secret agent?" he said in a hush. "What's your mission?"

Will gave him a soft smile. "To fall in love."

"That's a weird mission," JJ said, tilting his head to the side. Will chuckled.

"Do you remember the boy I said I fell in love with?" Will asked him softly. JJ nodded his head. "Well, I- I'm here to meet him again. His name is Dipper."

JJ's jaw slackened. "Dipper? But that's-!"

"Your godfather, yes. And I'm willing to bet a million dollars and an eye that your godfather is dating another person, am I right?"

JJ nodded, a little overwhelmed by the situation. His eyes kept flickering to William's sleeves. Will, subconsciously, hiked up his sleeves again in slight irritation. 

"I got a little mission for you, JJ," Will finally said, his lips tugging into a little smirk. 

"R- really? Wh- what is it? I'd do anything!" JJ exclaimed, his eyes wide with adoration. His little hands clenched into fists in front of him excitedly. Will's hands slipped away from his shoulders, placing them to rest on his knees. 

"That boy he's dating- I don't like him," Will said casually, tilting his head. "Dispose of their relationship." He kind of sounded like a hitman.

JJ grinned. "Do you want me to kill him too?"

Will laughed. "I was kidding," he said. _Mostly,_  he almost added. "Watch over Dipper for me, yeah? I know it's weird because he's your godfather and he should be watching over you, but he's unstable, JJ. I'm...I'm worried about him. Everyday, I'll try to go to the daycare to hang out, is that alright?"

JJ smiled, nodding his head. Will's jaw ticked. He could barely get out the words. "And JJ, please if you can, tell him I-"

Somebody laughed.

Will's blood ran cold, and his eyes flickered upwards, his heart pounding hard in his chest. JJ watched him in curiosity, watching as his old friend's eyes dilated.

Dipper was ordering an ice cream with his boyfriend.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess. Go and meet up with your godfather and force him to buy you a new ice cream with those puppy eyes of yours," Will chuckled, standing up. He tried not to sound alarmed. But the boy saw the fear in his eyes before he realized it himself.

"B- Will, go with me. If he means so much to you, the both of us would have enough strength to make you the alpha," JJ said, tugging on his blazer. The top hat was still on his head, but Will didn't make any move to take it back.

Will shook his head, turning around to walk back to his car and finish his job. But he stopped cold, turning around back to JJ.

He knelt down, holding out a palm and producing a beautiful blue rose. 

"Give this to Dipper," he murmured, handing it over to JJ. "Tell them it was from a secret admirer. Don't tell them it was from me. Tell him- tell him it should be a reminder. Of the original."

JJ nodded, saluting him with two fingers. He took the rose with nimble fingers as carefully as he could, looking at it in awe. 

When the little boy excitedly ran over to the couple, giving the brunet the rose and waving his arms over his head frantically, the demon was already gone when the trio turned to look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I ever say that one of my favorite characters is JJ because if I haven't; one of my favorite characters is JJ. He has a purpose, I promise!


	7. Mangled Minds & Dire Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would probably seem like a very rushed and very, very short chapter, and I'm sorry for that (If I say sorry a lot, I'm sorry, I live in Canada)! Tomorrow I have a regional fair finals, and it's making me go a little crazy. I just wanted this up before that, because I know that I would be drained afterwards and not have the motivation to write until next week or something lol. 
> 
> (BillDip will happen. Soon. *Sniffs*)

_"And if you're in love, then you are the lucky one,_  
_'Cause most of us are bitter over someone._  
_Setting fire to our insides for fun,_  
_To distract our hearts from ever missing them._  
_But I'm forever missing him._  
_And you caused it."_

**[Youth | Daughter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEpMj-tqixs) **

* * *

Will laughed as he put another strawberry in between his lips, laying his head on his lover's lap.

He craned his neck upwards, looking into those beautiful brown eyes. The boy laughed at his overly dramatic action, his soft hands covering the sides of his face in a caress. Though the brunet was upside down, Will could trace every single detail of what he saw in his sleep.

"You're a dork," the brunet announced. 

"But as long as I'm _your_ dork, it doesn't matter, doesn't it?" Will asked in innocence, tilting his head slightly to the side. The strawberry in between his lips did little to stifle his words- he was just too used to doing this. He put his hands behind his head, his right leg resting on his lifted knee. He refused to stop looking at the boy looking down at him. 

The brunet snorted, slapping his cheek softly. But like Will, he didn't turn to look away. "What am I ever going to do with you?" the boy whispered.

"For one, you can always let me take care of you," Will told him with a quirk of the lips. Then he paused, thinking for a bit. "And take me to bed."

This time, his lover averted his gaze, laughing at his words. He leaned backwards, away from Will. Will couldn't help but laugh with him, letting the cool wind let his hair whip around his face. It was the perfect temperature up here, plus the view was _perfect._ It was one of the reasons why he let his Pine Tree back up the mountain.

"Aren't you going to take this stupid fruit from me yet? It's tempting me," Will whined, the strawberry moving with the movement of his lips. He forced himself to keep it steady at the tips, to not let it be consumed by him even though it looked absolutely delicious. 

Dipper leaned back down to find his face, taking Will's face in his hands again. His eye twinkled in amusement, his other eye covered by the white cloth he sported for weeks now. The glass eye was just too much for an effort for him. His hair, which was originally flattened and styled down like a gentleman, was curly and messy all over again- which made Will want to run his hands down them too. Will closed his eyes. He had Dipper back.

He felt Dipper lean downwards further, feeling the brunet's soft lips touch his for the briefest of moments before he pressed harder, his teeth sinking into the berry before the boy pulled back, the strawberry successfully in his mouth. The boy chewed, a thoughtful look on his face. Will couldn't help but smile at the sight, feeling his stomach churn with butterflies. Not literal ones, of course.

Will licked his lips subconsciously, feeling his stomach stir with emotions as he watched his lover judge the sweetness of his strawberry almost teasingly. Will couldn't help but put a lazy, lopsided grin on his face. 

"It needs more whip cream," Dipper finally said, leaning back against the tree behind them. 

"Hmph," Will grunted. "Such a needy person."

Dipper hit the side of his head softly. "Hey, I'm just suggesting things! I like sweet things. Strawberries aren't that sweet to me without whipped cream," Dipper argued. Will laughed.

Another gust of wind came through, chilling both the boys. It whipped their hairs around, getting them in their faces unintentionally. It made the both of them laugh, taking turns to brush them aside from each others' faces. Having a picnic up here on the mountain was the best decision Will ever made. Especially with him. 

"Shouldn't we go back down?" Dipper asked him, playing with Will's hair as he looked out in front of them, admiring the view of the city below and the streaking blue sky above. "We've been gone for more than twenty four hours- everyone's probably getting worried."

"Nah," Will purred, his eyes still trained on the oblivious boy. He loved watching his lover's face change and look when he saw something new- the quirk of the lips when he saw a bird fly past, the furrow of the eyebrows when he saw something weird down below, or the happy gleam in his good eye. "A storm hit yesterday, 'member? They probably think we're out taking shelter."

"But that was yesterday, it's perfectly good out he-" Dipper began to argue.

"Pine Tree?" The name sounded wonderful on his tongue. It was a name he hadn't spoken in so long.

Dipper glanced down at him in question. "Hmm?"

"Let me look at you," Will murmured, craning his head upwards. Almost subconsciously, his arm came up, tangling itself softly in Dipper's hair. Dipper's eyes closed almost in a trance, his head dipping down to let Will look at him better.

Will's hand ran itself through Dipper Pines's soft hair, running down, down, down. It found its way on Dipper's mouth, and he ran a thumb idly over the boy's bottom lip. Will's eyes half-closed in fascination, his eyes flickering all over his darling's face. He was upside down, but he drank everything in. The curve of his lips, his cutely flushed nose that contrasted his face, his eyelashes, just _everything_ and _anything._

"You're so beautiful," Will murmured.

"You're only saying that," Dipper replied, wrinkling his nose. Will tilted his head. But he was. Perfect, even. Why did Dipper ever think he was lying?

"But you are," was his genius response.

Dipper huffed, looking away from Will. The blond boy's hand was still caressing his face softly, and he dropped it to his stomach with a small concerned frown. "Dipper," he spoke softly, catching his lover's attention. "Everything I said last night was the truth. It always has been, from the moment I- I saw you. No one has ever made me feel this way, or let my guard down, and frankly, I'm okay with that."

He swallowed, his eyes searching Dipper's. The arm behind his back ached a little, and he shifted. Finally, he got up from his spot on Dipper's lap, turning his body around to face the brunet. They were close together, their breaths mingling. Will took hold of Dipper's face, pressing his forehead against his. Dipper watched him with pulled down lips, his face unnaturally...sad. Will wanted nothing more at the moment than to let that sadness vanquish. 

"They told me it was impossible to have you again," Will muttered, closing his eyes. "Every time I see you, I fall in love all over again. Every concern I had at the moment would just...wash away. I want- I _need_ to wake up to see you every morning again like this. You are the best thing that has ever happened in my life, Dipper Pines, and if I lose you again..." Will's voice caught in his throat. He wasn't an emotional person- anyone who knew him would tell you that. But Dipper needed to hear these words, to hear the honest raw emotion behind them that Will always forgot to express, even if it was always there. "...I think I would lose control."

Dipper's breath came in and out faster, fanning Will's face. "Do you love me?" he whispered. 

His words caught Will off guard for a split second, but the moment it comprehended in his mind, the words were already out. "Of course I do. I love you. So, so much." 

Dipper laughed softly at his words, closing the gap between them. Their kiss was soft and reassuring, their lips bound together perfectly. Will held him closer, deepening their kiss. He nipped softly on Dipper's bottom lip, enticing the boy to let him in. 

But Dipper pulled away, staring into his eyes with a soft smile on his face. Dipper's eyelids lowered, pressing his forehead against Will's. He cupped a hand over Will's on his face, squeezing Will's hand. Will watched him with hooded eyes, watching the boy take in breaths softly and peacefully. 

"I love you too," Dipper mumbled. 

Will felt his heart squeeze in his chest, thumping harder and harder. His words left him speechless, rendering him with no words and actions to express his- his _happiness._ Suddenly, he realized that the deal of having Dipper say it back wasn't the first thought that came to mind- it was just the utter prosperity and peace behind those words that made him grin. He didn't know that he wanted to hear those words- to _need_ to have heard those words until he heard them personally. 

But before Will can reply, or swoop him in for another kiss, Dipper kissed his cheek softly.

The boy leaned backwards, away from Will. Casually, like he didn't know his words left such a huge effect on his boyfriend. Dipper closed his eyes, folding his hands over his stomach. He left Will there to watch him curiously, wondering what the brunet was doing after such a...more than content confession. "But I'd still choose Damon over you," Dipper whispered. 

* * *

Will's eyes fluttered open. 

His hand instantly went over his heart as he bolted upright, his breathing labored and his eyes wide open. His hair got into his face, sticking in a million different directions. But he barely even cared.

Dip, his dog, barked in alarm, bouncing over to lick his free hand that dangled over his mattress bed. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Will mumbled, waving his dog off with a wave of a hand. 

Dip snorted, licking his hand one last time before tilting her cute little head at her partner in crime. "I said I'm _fine,_ " Will said through gritted teeth. "I'm fine, D- Dip. I just gotta...I'm heading out for a bit later. Is that fine with you?" The dog answered by tilting her head further. 

"I'm just going back to the cemetery- I'll be fine," Will told his dog, ruffling the dog's head affectionately.

Dip whimpered softly, her little ears flattening out against her head. "I know, I know. I'm never home," Will sighed, rubbing her head to soothe her. "One last trip there, I promise. I know it gives you the creeps but- one last time, please?" Will begged. Dip whimpered in disagreement, but she lifted her head, determined to finally have this all done so Will can be back home again. 

Will yawned, jumping off the bed in an instant. He changed out quickly, his heart still thumping like mad in his chest. The dream- that stupid, _stupid_ dream. To give him false hopes and make him _so-_

He shook his head vigorously, growling softly to himself like he was a dog. He ran a hand through his messy hair, feeling adrenaline pump through him like a shot of drugs. A white shirt, jeans, and a black hoodie- he felt like an emo kid, but no one was going to care anyway. He's been doing this for days now, coming back to the cemetery and not leaving until it was very late at night. 

He woke up, went to the daycare, left to go to the cemetery, went home to sleep for two or three hours. That was his schedule for the last week now.

Taking his car keys off the table, he shot away from the apartment building and entered his car, his dog following suit. Dip entered the shotgun seat, Will putting his own seat-belt over his chest before driving off.

He was so used to driving to the cemetery that he could basically drive there with his eyes closed. It was implanted into his mind like a brain chip, never leaving and never will even with force. He was so tired of this- always coming back to a job he never wanted. But he did it for the sake of the Pines and for himself. He had to endure it, he had to torture himself everyday for it. Demons like him loved pain, anyway. He loved it sometimes too. But for now...

The drive over there was short. Probably because he sped through the streets at neck-breaking speed, causing the drivers on the road to honk at him and yell at him through open windows uselessly. 

Will didn't know why he was rushing, and didn't know why he was such in a hurry to get to a place he never wanted to go to in the first place. It was just that same gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach and chest, forcing him to go faster and quicker, as if his own life depended on it. It was the same gut-wrenching feeling he felt every single day, whether that was a small tug at his stomach or a very nauseous feeling. 

He was beginning to think that the feeling wasn't just a human emotion- it was something more...demon-like. 

Will angrily got out of his car, opening the shotgun seat to let Dip out to the cemetery. Even though the dog clearly hated being around a gloomy place like this in which it smelled like death, the dog would much rather take this place than a stuffy old apartment building. Although, the option of being stuck in a tiny house was becoming a much more preferable place in the dog's eyes more and more each time they came here. William couldn't blame her. 

Dip, as per usual, bounced off to the more happy side of the cemetery, where there were less gravestones and more flowers. Dip barked at William, in case he wanted to join him for a game of fetch, but again, Will shook his head. Dip barked again in resignation, turning around and running off to bother the poor graveyard digger or some mourning visitor. 

Will stuffed his hands into his pockets, pulling his hoodie up over his head and forcing his feet to the graveyard site he was hoping to see.

He twisted and turned, walking through different gravestones, old and new. He stepped over fallen ones, his feet squishing over the moss. Everything about this place was disgusting. Everyone thinks it's disgusting. It was like no one ever bothered to take of the dead.

The only place that was even remotely taken care of was the almost empty slot a few feet away from any other gravestone or civilization. A perfect spot for a memoir of the most deserving girl in the world, in which no one even bothered to make a gravestone for because the family was too _busy._ It made Will absolutely repulsed.

In a beautiful gravestone that was colorful and glittery, stood Mabel Pines's name. 

Beautiful lilies and roses covered the bottom of the colorful marble. Handwriting carved into the marble itself, presenting Mabel's name and occupation. Of course, that's what people saw on the outside of the gravestone. Just a normal, polished stone that seemed to belong to a dead princess than anything else, and everyone would just shrug this off as just that.

Will bit back a bitter laugh. They didn't know how hard he worked on it- how much blood spilled in order to work this out. How much sacrifices he made, mentally and physically, to recreate a tradition.

"Hi," whispered a familiar voice.

Will didn't bother turning around, instead kneeling down in front of the stone and ultimately sitting criss-cross in front of it. He didn't even blink. "Hello, Shooting Star."

"That's some dandy work you did there, Will," Mabel Pines teased, sitting down beside William.

Her form, unlike before, was more...life-like. She was still a little hazy, up to the point that a normal person with functioning eyes could tell that she was not a regular human. She was still a little translucent, but at least Will could see her a little more clearly. But it wasn't just her form that made Will physically relax- it was her bright smile. He didn't feel the pain it came with when she always appeared in front of him. 

It worked.

"The best work for the best people," Will teased back.

"You know you didn't have to do this, right?" Mabel suddenly blurted, bringing her knees up to her chest. "We can get into his mindscape just fine."

"It's not his mindscape that scares me, Shooting Star," Will sighed, his eyes transfixed on her gravestone. His spine chilled. What was buried underneath that stone was...

"Then what does?" Mabel asked.

"You."

Mabel's eyebrows shot up. "Will, I am literally the least scariest person on this damn planet. Once, I got scared of a tiny ladybug in my room after it landed on my hairbrush and-"

"That's not what I meant," Will cut off. He shook his head, lowering his eyes to the flowers crowned around the stone. "I can't lose you again."

Mabel frowned, turning her head around to look at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked in disbelief. "I'm already dead, man! I can't leave more than I can now."

 _"Mabel,"_ he snapped, unintentionally making Mabel flinch back, "the mindscape. If you enter another mindscape, it can literally _burn_ you out of this dimension. You'll be stuck in a third world, floating around with no one to _help._ For eternity too."

"And? You promised me you'd let me see him, and you said it would be safe!" she argued.

"That's why I put all those...charms," Will said in distaste, nodding his head to the grave. Mabel's eyes flickered with disgust and anger, before they came back to their normal, cheery tone. Of course, Will was the one who had to ask her for permission. While she was extremely disgusted and repulsed by the idea of his magic and what he had to do, she complied and let him do it. 

"Is it done then?" she whispered.

Will hesitated, then nodded. "The last part is the only thing left. But it's optional."

"Let's not do that last part," Mabel grimaced. 

"Are you sure? I mean, it-"

"I'm sure, Will."

Will's back tingled. Though he really wanted to do this for Mabel, and solely for Mabel, he just had this...feeling again. It was kind of getting on his nerves.

He almost let out a scream of pain as a thread tugged itself around his head, squeezing tighter and tighter like a vise. If he didn't get out of here, he was going to disintegrate. Alongside with Mabel.

So he flung open the first door to him, pushing through and shoving himself to the ground. His hands were the first thing to hit the floor, and he felt a rush of pain go through his palms. 

The ground was cool marble, polished and refined. Not Dipper's.

Beside him, Mabel appeared in an instant, looking disheveled and wild. 

And with his head clearing, the first thing that came to mind was the dream that he had just not over an hour ago. He woke up this morning being so _sure_ of the dream and angry at it that he didn't even bother to try and comprehend it. He didn't even bother to question it, and why it was there in the first place.

He was a _dream_ demon- he wasn't supposed to have dreams, in a human body or not. 

And the only time things like that happen was if it wasn't a dream, but a vision.

Will pulled himself up, running a hand through his hair to flatten it out. His head spun slightly at the feeling that was thrown on him just a moment ago. Beside him, Mabel looked around the place in awe, her mouth forming a little tiny 'o'. 

When Will felt on top of his head, he didn't just feel greasy hair. He felt a top hat, firmly attached to his head like a second brain like it used to be. A cane appeared by his side in an instant without him thinking.

This was, after all, his home. This dimension knew him more than he knew himself, and it was strangely comforting. It helped him get his mind off that stupid dream. At least, with everything he had, he begged that it was just that. A dream. A nightmare that would never come true.

"Welcome to the mindscape, kid," Bill Cipher grinned. Just one last time. 


	8. The Mind is Just A Metaphor, Kid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Inhales deeply* this is the longest chapter I have made as of yet. 16000+ words, goddamn I need to chill. 
> 
> P.S. Will and Bill is the same person (But you probs already knew that). Will is the human kind of counter part thing. He is referred to as Bill when he feels demonic. Did that even make sense? Haha I confused myself too. All you need to know is that they're that same person.

_"Though I'm weak and beaten down,_  
_I'll slip away into this sound,_  
_The ghost of you is close to me,_  
_I'm inside-out, you're underneath._  
_Don't let me be gone._  
_Don't let me be gone."_

**[Goner | Twenty One Pilots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J5mE-J1WLk) **

* * *

"Holy fucking shit," Mabel breathed. 

"Language, Shooting Star," Bill purred, spinning his cane around one hand casually. 

He floated upwards, his head narrowly missing a floating tea cup that passed by in the air. The area they were in was in black and white, and utterly familiar. A black forest- with the only weird thing being the food floating around like crazy. The marble stone he hit was of the flooring of a bathroom. That was out in the open to the forest. 

Mabel looked up at him, squinting at his floating form. "You can _fly_?"

"Shooting Star, we're in a mindscape," Bill snorted, "of course I can. So can you. You can even summon kittens and stuff. Didn't you already know that?"

"Well yeah, but-" she stammered. Her eyes flickered all around the forest, her eyes wide as saucers. "we're in _another_ mindscape. Holy shit, man! This is- holy _shit._ "

"I don't think excrement is holy, pal," Bill mused, putting the top of his cane on his chin in thought. He floated just ten feet away from Mabel, watching in amusement as her wonder got the best of her. Slowly, her sweater she wore every single day in her mindscape and in ghost form (which was her iconic shooting star sweater Bill adored), it changed into another pink sweater with a smiley face on it. Testing her limits, perhaps. 

Mabel looked down in surprise, her lips splitting wide into a grin. "Well dang, Cipher. You're goddamn right."

"Now, would I ever lie to you?" Bill chirped innocently. 

"Well, I mean you-"

"Don't answer that. It was a rhetorical question, birdbrain."

"Right. Sorry." Mabel grinned back at him. _"Bill."_ As if the name would offend him. Tch. 

Bill shook his head, huffing. He floated back down by her side, letting his cane disappear into blue fire. His top hat stayed on, sticking to his head like it was a part of him- and, in the mindscape, of course it was. What confused him the most was that even though he was in his own domain, in his own _dimension,_ he was still human. It made him feel violated and repulsed. 

"Well, I guess we should find our way out of here," Bill said, nodding his head to the trail set in front of them. A cheeseburger hit him on the cheek. He waved it off in slight irritation. 

"How do you know the way out?" Mabel inquired, peeking over his shoulder to see deeper into the trail. It showed nothing but darkness, but Bill knew how mindscapes work. He shrugged in response to her question, moving forward confidently. If only he could fly again. Well, technically he could, but- ugh, things like this makes his head hurt. 

Everything made his head hurt. The mindscape traveling, the knife point, his own _name._  Will, Bill, Will, Bill- it was like he had two personas. One was human, and the other was the sociopath everyone knew and loved- or uh, hated. 

"You see, the thing about mindscapes, Star," Bill chirped, looking over his shoulder briefly to look at her, "is that mindscapes are different from everyone. They basically control the guests, not the other way around. If you let go, you'd wind up where you want to be."

"That sounds like an ancient karate master quote," Mabel giggled, following after him. 

"That's because it is," Bill winked. Over a trillion years of a life span- he had to do _something_ in those years, didn't he? Which included world domination planning and manipulating meat-sacks of course.

Mabel, getting more comfortable in the mindscape and realizing that the mindscape wasn't going to make her vanquish all over again, decided to make use of her powers. She made kittens appear at her feet to follow her, before she let them disappear to be replaced by chinchillas, or lizards, or even crocodiles. She laughed under her breath each time, grabbing food out of the air to feed them to the companions accompanying them on their trip. Bill kind of felt like Dora the Explorer. 

"Hey Will!" Mabel chirped, plucking a cookie out of the air. Instead of offering it to the monkey on her shoulder, who was already eating a banana, she stuffed it into her mouth. Bill hummed in answer. "Whose mindscape does this belong to, anyway?"

"Soos's," Bill answered almost immediately. 

Mabel gave him a suspicious look. "Hey dude, I get that you're a dream demon and all, but didn't your uncle strip of your knowledge of the universe and shit?"

"I know," Bill hummed, "I know it's dear old Soos's because-" He nodded his head in front of them. 

Lo and Behold, the Mystery Shack came into view. 

Bill, expecting Soos's house with his family instead of the Shack, stopped in his tracks in slight shock. He knew it was Soos's because Soos loved to eat- and the connecting mindscapes they could go through were arranged by how close a person was to the grave sight- meaning that Gravity Falls residents were open to them freely and painlessly. The only person who loved to eat the most (especially tacos) was Soos. It didn't help that there were floating tools bumping into him once in a while.

He shook of the feeling of mild dread that passed through him, strutting forward. "The Mystery Shack? But I though Stan-" Mabel asked in confusion. 

"Stan's mindscape," he cut off, craning his head to look at her, "disappeared with me. Even though his memories came back, his mindscape changed- as it should. It's probably a white void at the moment. Mindscapes take years to form naturally and an old mind like his would take longer."

"I...didn't know that," Mabel blinked, her eyes flickering back to the Mystery Shack. "Then..."

"Hmm?" he prompted, feeling her questioning gaze burning into the back of his head. Thankfully, not literally. Everything could be literal here. 

"How about Dipper's mindscape? His memories were erased twice, weren't they? First by me, then by you," Mabel blurted out. Bill flinched. He raked through her words, trying to find the bitter tone in it, but there was none. He tried to relax, finally thinking that Shooting Star wasn't saying it to blame him. After all, they were both at fault for Dipper's collapse. 

" _Parts_ of his memories," Bill corrected. He stepped over a kitten, probably made by Mabel. "You need to erase absolutely everything to collapse a mindscape, kid. Name, basic knowledge, family and friends, details, all that jazz. Plus, I've seen his mindscape before- he's a tough one, your brother. Nothing can break his mind." _Except for when he found out you died. That was his last straw._

"You've been to his mindscape?" Mabel gaped, bouncing over beside him. There was a parrot perched on her shoulder. "Polly wants a cracker!" it croaked. Mabel fed it a cracker without looking.

"Of course," he said calmly. "I've possessed his body when he was twelve, remember? Then I always had to visit his mindscape to make sure he didn't have any nightmares when I first made that deal with my uncle. He made sure that I couldn't manipulate his dreams when he found out. 'Didn't stop me from watching his dreams though. If he had a nightmare, I wouldn't be able to stop it- but at least I could wake him up if it did and comfort him."

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Mabel cooed, a glitter of amusement in her eyes. "Who knew a dream demon would watch his beau's dreams to make sure he wasn't having nightmares?" she teased.

Bill snorted. He whacked a hot dog out of his face, the Mystery Shack getting closer and closer into view. Unlike Stan's mindscape, where the Mystery Shack seemed broken and floating about, Soos's interpretation of the Shack was exactly like it was in real life- surrounded by the forest, slightly broken, but exactly the same. 

"I do it with everyone, kid," he explained nonchalantly, "at least, when I was still in power. What did you think I did before I came to Gravity Falls? It was my job to watch dreams and manipulate them, and I was damn good at it. I gave people visions and nightmares when they were stressed, I stopped nightmare parasites from entering undeveloped minds, I gave lucid dreams to the ones whose minds needed it- all that stuff. I'm a _dream_ demon, not an alp. I don't necessarily give nightmares all the time."

"Wait, wait, wait-" Mabel said, holding her hands out in front of her. "Hold up one second, Will- Bill? Do I call you Bill in the mindscape because you technically _are_ Bill or-? Ugh, this is confusing me. I'll just call you Bill here and Will in the real world," she groaned. Bill gave her a lopsided grin. She had it spot on. "Anyway," she drawn out. "You don't just give people nightmares? You- you actually _stop_ them sometimes?"

"Well, technically speaking, yes," Bill told her. "And don't think that means I was ever kind. I wasn't. I stopped nightmares because if those parasites were to enter unstable minds or minds that weren't ready- those parasites could become a reality. They could enter the real world and ruin my plans. But, sometimes I just stopped nightmares because I wanted to. I'd replace the nightmares with something more realistic to keep them asleep and traumatized in the morning. Because seriously, who would actually think they were being chased by a giraffe and wake up terrified?"

Mabel's face blushed red. "Well, uh..."

"You're Mabel, you have an excuse."

"Nice," she said with a bob of her head.

By the time Bill was done explaining, they were already at the door to the Mystery Shack. "Follow me, don't touch anything, don't _open_ anything, and don't make any more animals and things appear," Bill barked. "Going inside the heart of a mindscape and manipulating the inside, even if it's just making a pebble appear, can interfere with the guy's mind."

"Wait, are you saying that I might low-key give him brain cancer or something?" Mabel mused. 

"Yep. Or just a small headache in the morning. It depends on the person and the thing you do," Bill told her, opening the door.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her after him. Inside, it was completely different from the Mystery Shack.

It looked like a generic home of a family. A living room with toys littering the floor, a kitchen with cookies baking in the oven, a Disney movie on the TV, and even a toy horse rocking in the corner. Drawings scattered the coffee table and all over the walls. Soos's house before the Shack.

"Holy shit, that's a lot of drawings," Mabel observed, picking one up from the coffee table. She giggled. "Oh. That's why," she laughed, "they're all JJ's."

Curious now, Bill picked one up as well. It was the same picture of the cat from the first time Bill met him again in two and a half years. In fact, the coffee table was the same drawing- the same cat, the same person who drew it. 

"Old Soos has this drawing on his mind the most," Bill noted. He felt a little happy for JJ at the moment. Then that means Soos was thinking about the cat then. 

He put the drawing back down, and hesitated for a moment. He shouldn't. He told Mabel specifically to not do it and he himself was thinking about doing something in Soos's mindscape. So much hypocrisy, but it was for JJ. 

When Mabel had her back turned to the cookies baking in the oven with her mouth hanging open in hunger, Bill snapped his fingers and let an adoption paper for a new cat appear at the coffee table among the drawings. Soos's and Melody's names were signed at the bottom. He grinned. This was sure to get Soos's attention.

He turned back to Mabel. "Let's go find your airhead of a brother."

Mabel turned around to look at him with a surprised grin, wiping the saliva off her mouth. Bill almost snorted- she was a ghost, she didn't need to eat. "First, you call me birdbrain," she laughed, "then you call my nerd of a brother 'airhead'. You really need new insults."

He smiled. He stepped forward and took hold of her wrist, holding it upwards. He slapped down a bill on her palm, rolling up her fingers around it tightly. "Here, take my twenty dollar bill and buy yourself some new comebacks."

* * *

Over the past few hours- or days, or months, or minutes, they jumped through mindscapes like crazy. Time was hard to tell with mindscapes, but Bill sure felt like it's been hours. 

He could feel his body weakening and feeling tired with each jump, his head feeling like it was going to crack under an invisible band tightening itself around each time. It was the equivalent of an average adult running eighty miles in one go. Legs feeling like lead, head pounding and becoming nauseous- the fun works. 

They were just at the entrance of Wendy Corduroy's lumberjack home, barely missing her brothers' swinging axes and screaming. Bill covered his ears, running to take cover.

"What kind of brothers have _axes?!_ " Mabel shouted in disbelief, ducking her head before her youngest brother could cut it off.

"Apparently, lumberjacks!" Bill answered wryly, sliding downwards to go under a table. He stayed on his stomach, pulling Mabel's feet to make her stop and go under the table with him.

They were just about to exit her mindscape thanks to the door that marked it. It was only about twenty feet away. No biggie, right? Well, it would've been "no biggie" if it wasn't for the screaming kids with axes and the lumber lying around. Bill smacked his forehead against the grass.

"I am the most powerful being on this earth, human form or not, with the knowledge of every universe only contained enough to be taken by my uncle, and my magic only restrained for a short amount of time thanks to one slip," Bill boasted. "Why am I running away from little _kids_?" he moaned.

"Maybe because those kids are psychopaths," Mabel pointed out, panting. She brushed her bangs away from her face. "Jesus Christ, is that _blood_ on the oldest kid's ax?" she asked in disbelief.

The kids ran around yelling their lungs out, chopping already cut down wood and hitting random things. Wendy's mindscape seemed normal when they entered, with her home being covered by the woods and lumber. Her college friends lazed around and student loan bills floated around in the darkest parts of the forest. 

Mabel caught sight of one of the student loans, and shivered. "Now that's what I call a nightmare."

Bill ignored her, his eyes searching around for an escape. Well, they could always book it. Booking it was good. But that might have the chance of them having their heads chopped off by tiny children in red flannels with axes. He didn't know what would have happened if it did. Bill was almost used to being immortal and not uh, human so- he wasn't about to find out.

"Great, now what? We run?" Bill groaned, slamming his forehead against the grass once more. His forehead must've been covered in the green stuff by now.

"Bill, you are literally over a trillion years old," Mabel mused, "don't you have the knowledge of the damn universe? Jeez, just use it!"

"The knowledge of the universe doesn't tell me how to get away from _little children,_ " Bill hissed, turning his head to look at her. They hid lower into the table as the oldest kid let out a roar and smacked his ax across a thick log, chopping it cleanly in half with one hit. How was that even _possible,_ even for the mindscape?!

"Fine, fine," Mabel told him in slight annoyance. Her eyes searched around for an escape. 

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" she screamed, running out from under the table.

"Wh-? That doesn't even make sense! Why be a rotten egg if you can literally be a dragon?!" Bill screamed back, crawling out from underneath the table. 

The boys targeted them almost immediately, running after them with their axes raised high and a battle cry coming out. 

Mabel laughed good-naturely, dodging a branch that almost smacked her across the face, ultimately making Bill have that fate. He waved the branch off, snapping it off the tree as a result and booking it down the road with Mabel. 

He felt the wind whip his hair around, and felt the boys come closer and closer. "Shooting Star, I'm out of shape! I-" He wheezed, "-can't freaking do this shit!" Ah, the power of swear words. He wished he knew about them sooner.

"You're a triangle, _obviously_ you're out of shape!" Mabel shouted back, throwing her head backwards to look at Bill. She grinned at him, then turned back to the door coming closer and closer. 

"Of all the puns and irony, you go with triangles?" Bill groaned. 

"Yep!" she chirped, reaching the door and swinging it open. She climbed inside, Bill coming after her. 

She forced the door shut after he clambered through, smacking it with a satisfying click of a door and an ax being embedded into the middle of the wood. Bill panted, feeling his knees give in under him as he smacked against the floor with his knees first, feeling the sensation vibrate through his body.

He put his palms flat against the cold floor, catching his breath. His lungs tightened and contracted, feeling like he was on fire. Jumping through mindscapes like this- it was only a matter of time that he literally burnt to a crisp and out of existence. And it hurt like hell.

Shooting Star took notice in his tiredness, kneeling down beside him to put a hand on his back soothingly. "Hey, hey," she whispered, "what's happening, Billy Bop? You okay?"

"Of course," Bill told her through small pants, swallowing down a heavy breath. He calmed himself down, just for the sake of seeming fine to the only person accompanying him here. "Of course I'm fine." He repeated it just in case. As if to tell himself that he was indeed fine. 

Mabel rubbed her hand on his back, patting him twice. "C'mon, Billy, we're getting close to his mindscape. I can feel it."

Bill looked up at the doors surrounding them. He frowned at each door, all of them exactly the same. People like him called this place "Mindscape Central". You can find any mindscape here, depending on how powerful of a demon you are and where you are exactly. The only reason why Bill never came here that often was that the doors were never labelled- you had to rely on "gut feelings". 

And that gut feeling rule was exactly why he brought Mabel along. 

Twin telepathy was a very much real thing. Twins born from the same mother, same time (roughly), and same uterus. They were bound they have the same mindscape placing, or at least train of thoughts at some points in their life. That was why twins seemed to be the closest among other kinds of relationships- they had each other from the moment they were conceived, both spiritually and physically. 

Maybe he was being selfish, maybe he was doing the wrong thing but- Bill missed him. The old him, the one who showed around people he knew and loved. Not the new one he met for less than two hours, the one that seemed so...artificial. Mindscapes almost always showed the person's real self and he just- he missed Dipper Pines more than anything in the world.

"Bill? Bill? _Bill?_ Are you okay?"

Bill blinked, looking up at Mabel, who was already standing up and holding out a hand towards him to help him off the floor. Wordlessly, Bill took her hand and stood up. 

"Pick a door, Shooting Star," Bill sighed, waving a hand around all the doors surrounding them. They were doing this tactic ever since they came here. Mabel picks a door, if it wasn't Dipper's, they go out, and repeat. 

Mabel's eyes searched narrowly, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. She was still sporting the smiley face sweater, and it seemed almost comical with her suddenly serious expression. Her eyes stopped on the door directly across from them. Then she kept searching. 

"Bill?" she asked, her tone light and joyful, despite the serious look on her face.

"Yes?" he asked, looking down at his grass-covered clothing. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, snapping his fingers and changing it into a new suit. Black, sleek, a yellow tie- perfect. He grinned lazily. It matched with his top hat, at least.

"Each mindscape we kept going to- that person who owns that mindscape isn't there," Mabel told him. Her eyes glanced over at him. Her brow pulled together in concentration. "Do they not physically go into their mindscape except for inside memories or...?"

"They can appear physically," Bill explained calmly to her. He was a little confused as to why she was asking, but she was Shooting Star- weirder questions could come out of her. "We just couldn't find their forms in their mindscapes because they were probably in a dream state- which, by the way, is a little too complicated to explain to you. Why are you asking?"

"No reason," she crooned, stretching out those two words like a purr. Bill's eyes narrowed.

"Shooting Sta-" he warned.

She waved a hand in his general direction in dismissal, walking over to the door in front of them. "I _think_ this is Dipper's mindscape," she informed the demon, " _think._ There's a strong connection here."

Bill walked closer to the door with her. "You sure? If this isn't it, I don't think we can go find another one again for a long while." 

Was it him, or did the brunette shift uncomfortably?

He shook it off. He trusted Shooting Star. If she wasn't trust-worthy, he would have had her blasted into an ogre dimension for life or something. 

"Will you do the honors, Your Majesty?" Shooting Star teased, bowing and holding out an arm to the door. 

Bill grinned. Walking towards the door, he held out a hand and grasped the handle firmly. Like all the others, the handle was stony and cold to the touch. This one, on the other hand, felt extremely different from the other mindscapes they went through. He tilted his head to the side in question.

He shook this off, pulling on the handle and stepping inside. Mabel followed suit, closing the door behind them. 

As a result, they were blinded for a good two seconds, white light flashing into their eyes. It was like what the humans thought of as the "light at the end of the tunnel". Bill, of course, was too used to it to even react properly, merely blinking once and tilting his chin upwards. 

Mabel brought up some shades, putting her hand over her eyes and shades nonetheless. She whistled underneath her breath as they stepped closer inside the mindscape. Bill felt a shiver run through his back, drafting a coldness he hadn't felt in so long. There was something...off about this mindscape.

"Whoa!" Mabel cried out in surprise, almost falling down a long flight of spiral stairs that set out just two feet in front of them. 

Bill stepped backwards as a reflex, looking down the staircase. It was polished white, blindingly so. Marble stone, polished windows, candle-lit chandeliers- this place looked awfully familiar. He narrowed his eyes and didn't speak as he walked down the stairs, not bothering to check in with Mabel.

His footsteps clanged against the glossy stairs, echoing through the dark walls as he spiraled downwards. 

Mabel followed close behind, but somehow, her aura of joyfulness felt a little more...abstract, maybe? "This place definitely isn't Dipper Pines's," he sighed, running his hand down the stair handrail. He rubbed his forefinger and thumb together, frowning when no dust was in place. Definitely not that messy boy's mindscape. 

"Yeah," Mabel squeaked out.

Bill peered at her with narrowed eyes. A meddlesome glance of the eyes to the right, the shift of the weight- Shooting Star was up to something. 

" _Pines_ ," Bill snapped, causing the poor girl to jump nearly out of her sweater. She gave Bill a weak smile, an attempt to seem innocent. But she seemed all but that. "Where did you take us?"

"Eh, some random person's mindscape, I dunno," she slurred out. It would've convinced Bill, but Mabel didn't avoid his eyes when she was speaking truthfully. Or, seem so jumpy for that matter. The demon gave her an unimpressed purse of the lips, blinking once to show his disinterest as they continued down the spiral staircase. The silence was enough to drive him crazy soon. 

"Where?" Bill whispered in an undertone.

Mabel's lips tightened, her eyes actively avoiding his. The staircase seemed to go on _forever,_ with nothing in sight. Bill had to admit, it was a pretty clean mindscape. But something about the cleanliness of the place just seemed-

"Bill, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mabel blurted out, for once surprising the demon in turn. "I- I just wanted to see her one more time, even if it was just in mindscape form, and- damn it Bill, you wouldn't understand, I just- I just needed to see her one last time because I didn't get to say goodbye and I promised her that I would come back, and- and-"

"Slow down there, girly!" Bill cried out, grabbing her neck collar as her foot tripped on a slippery part of the marble, catching right on time before she tumbled down the never-ending set of stairs. "Did you take us to _Pacifica's_ mindscape?"

Mabel nodded vigorously, her eyes wide with terror and panic as Bill looked down at her in disbelief. She fiddled with her knuckles, twiddling her thumbs like a little girl. 

The demon sighed through his nose, letting go of the girl's collar before she can choke to death (ha). He rubbed his eyelids, one hand on the rail as he made his way downwards. The mindscape, as if cuing itself, began to make doors appear right over the rails. 

If one of them were to find their way to the doors, there was a chance they'd fall to their apparent doom with how much space there was between the stairs and the appearing doors. 

"Kid, I know you really want to see her but we don't have time for-" Bill said tiredly under his breath. Damn it, they didn't have time for this shit. His patience was wearing thin, he was ready to collapse and scream, and-

"Please, please, _please, pleaaaaase?_ " Mabel begged, coming in front of Bill's sight as she clamped her hands together like she was praying, shaking them in front of the blond boy with puppy dog eyes. Bill pursed his lips, looking away from the brunette. Shit, he was screwed. 

"Just let me find her. I'll talk to her for no more than five minutes then we'll leave. I know where Dipper's mindscape is, I just-" Mabel pleaded, her voice catching in her throat. She swallowed, tears shimmering in her eyes. "-I need to talk to her."

Bill stared at Mabel with a blank looking, side-stepping to make his way around her. The faster they got out of here, the faster he can be done with this shit. 

"I told you we would be here to find Dipper, not your ex-girlfriend," Bill gritted out. 

Mabel flinched, walking up beside him. "Who ever said she was my ex?" she demanded. There was that unnatural anger in her eyes again. It made Bill a little uneasy. 

"Well, you're dead. She knows you're dead. Doesn't that automatically make people exes?" Bill asked her in genuine curiosity. Because as far as he knew, the false memory he put in Dipper's mind was that his "ex" got into a car crash and died. That made Dipper find someone else without a second thought. So wouldn't Pacifica do the same?

"Paz doesn't believe in that," Mabel whispered, so quietly that Bill barely heard. Their footsteps echoed loudly, the steps getting louder and louder the deeper they went in. The place was almost pitch black, the only light source being the light underneath some of the doors. It made Bill itch to open one. But of course, not enough to actually do it. He had over a trillion years of learning how to have self-control.

"So what? You think she's gonna run up to you and kiss you when she sees you?" Bill chuckled. 

"In a matter of fact, yes," Mabel snapped. She put her chin up high, causing Bill to almost roll his eyes at her. 

"You have so much faith in people, Shooting Star," Bill sighed, shaking his head. He waved a hand, opening all the doors at once. "Knock yourself out, kid."

Mabel squealed in delight, crushing Bill in one of her infamous bear hugs. But thankfully, this one was short-lived, her eyes already set on the open doors Bill swung open. Her brown eyes were wide with wonder and awe, for once curious to see this particular mindscape's memories. 

Bill adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves, not bothering to look at the inside of those memories. He's seen many in the past, interesting ones included- he has seen the minds of serial killers like Ted Bundy and Vlad The Impaler, and even minds of great founders such as Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein. A snobby rich girl like Pacifica Northwest was nothing to him. 

But the moment he heard the words "I love you" being spoken so raw and quietly coming from a girl who seemed so incapable of even thinking about it, he had to look up.

And then there was a replica of the brunette standing beside him in one of the doors, sitting on the rooftop with the blonde rich girl while both girls had drinks of Pitt Cola in their hands. The brunette, the memory of her at least, had her head on the blonde's lap, laughing as the words came out of the girl's mouth. "I love you, I love you, I love you," Pacifica had whispered.

Bill's eyes lowered, sidling up next to the ghost of the brunette, resting his elbows on the rails as he watched the memory. 

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Memory Mabel giggled. She booped Pacifica's nose with an index finger, causing the stuck-up rich girl to _laugh._ Bill couldn't even believe he was seeing the same girl who threatened to throw a homeless man in jail for begging, the same girl who slapped her own maids for having the wrong tea made for her. 

No, he was looking at a completely different person. A girl who was smiling, laughing with the only other person who could such a thing to her. He wondered, even for a moment, if he was ever like that with Dipper. 

"Oh Jesus Christ," Pacifica sighed, looking up at the setting sun before them. Memory Mabel laughed even louder. "That- that like a weight was just lifted off my shoulders. I..."

"It's called being truthful to yourself," Memory Mabel chirped, stretching her arms over her head as she waggled her eyebrows at the Northwest girl. Pacifica snorted out a laugh that was sure to give her parents a heart attack. "And besides, you didn't have to say it. I already knew," Memory Mabel added as an afterthought.

Bill watched in fascination at the girls' exchange. "The first time she said I love you," Mabel whispered to him, answering his mental question. "I always told her that I loved her ever since we started dating but she never said it back until we came onto that rooftop." Mabel swallowed visibly. She added, in the most quietest of volume, "I told her it wasn't a big deal but it made so incredibly happy."

"I can tell," Bill chuckled softly, nodding his head to the open door, "your eyes are brighter than ever."

Suddenly, startling both of them, the door swung close, turning their attention to the next one right beside it. This time, they were in the Shack all alone, the radio turned up high while Mabel and Pacifica stood over the oven.

"Ah, fuck me!" Pacifica hissed, reeling her hand back as hot oil stung the back of her hand.

"Later," Mabel automatically responded, causing the blonde to blush a deep red. But the brunette ignored this, taking the blonde's wrist and pulling it to her face. She kissed the back of Pacifica's hand, grinning a large smile Bill had never seen before. "Look, if you're going to scream every time hot oil touches you, I might as well take you to bed, Paz."

"It hurts me!" Paz whined, taking back her hand to rub it with another thumb. There was a small pout on her lips. 

Memory Mabel rolled her eyes, but the grin never faded. She reached over and shut off the oven, turning to look at Pacifica. Her eyes...Bill swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. It was the same sparkle in her eyes that Dipper used to get when he saw Bill after a long day.

Ghost Mabel took Bill by the wrist, pulling  him down the stairs to watch the rest of the memories. Her eyes were solemn, but happy as she ran down memory lane- quite literally.

Pacifica and Mabel staring at each other during a meeting then being yelled at for not paying attention. Mabel on a squeaky chair while Pacifica worked with a grumpy look. Trying IKEA furniture and Mabel having to patch Pacifica up. Pacifica screaming at Mabel to stop rocking the ferris wheel. Pacifica's phone buzzing with texts from Mabel every two minutes asking how her day was because she was half way across the world in Korea for a business trip. Pacifica responding to each one as fast as she can with not a single irritated look. Both girls weeping as they met each other again after almost four months, Pacifica promising over and over again to never, ever leave without her. 

The two of them being so incredibly happy and wonderful together. 

Bill glanced at Mabel. And not surprisingly, the girl was smiling almost wistfully, her arms crossed and hugged close to her chest as they walked deeper and deeper. And as all mindscapes were, the deeper the memories, the worst they got. Forgotten memories or memories that were wished to never be remembered ever again happened to be here. Bill didn't even have it in him to warn the girl.

Pacifica shaking and crying after a big fight with her parents. The details of the fight and the slap her father gave her across her cheek that Mabel never knew about. The words, the awful words that no parent should ever say to their child. The fake smile and concealer Pacifica was forced to put onto herself afterwards because she had a party to attend to. The bruises, the damn scars the rich girl bore because she loved a wonderful human being like Mabel Pines.

Bill crossed his arms, glancing at the real Mabel with a slight concerned furrow of the brow. 

Mabel watched every memory with her eyes seeming to look more and more older, the tinge to them that Bill couldn't place. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her hands around her loose sweater, shaking slightly as she physically couldn't avert her eyes. 

So in an instant, Bill raised up his right hand, bringing his middle finger and thumb together to snap them. 

But before he can, to stop the pain it was causing his best friend, Mabel put a hand over his knuckles, lowering them gently. She put another hand to her mouth, shaking her head almost pleadingly to the dream demon.

With a confused arch of a brow, Bill looked up to see what she was looking at.

A slow ballroom song, fit for a huge party made for princesses and princes. But, the setting was completely off. 

They were in the kitchen of the Mystery Shack, both girls wearing enormous sweaters and long pajamas as they waltz through the dark, giggling and whispering in each others' ears lovingly. Outside, the moon shone brightly with stars circling the beautiful crescent like sprinkles of glitter.

Beside him, Mabel stiffened. 

What on _Earth_ was this memory doing in the midst of the broken ones? 

"Say, Mabel," Pacifica whispered, their steps faltering as the song itself began to fade away to transition to another. Bill crossed his arms, drumming his fingers against his biceps in impatience. Another nice memory. Big whoop. What did Shooting Star want with this particular one?

"Hmm?" Memory Mabel hummed, twirling the blonde rich girl right on time before the girl bumped against the corner of the counter. Her eyes were wide with glee and optimism, something the Pines girl had learned to keep up even in the darkest of times. 

Beside the demon, the real Mabel watched mutely, mouth hinged tightly shut. Bill glanced at her, before shifting his bored gaze back to the memory. The faster they got through with this, the faster they could get to the stupid boy and get this over with.

"Do you think this would last?" Pacifica had blurted out, her face flushing red in embarrassment with how forward she was. "I just meant- _this._ Going out on fun dates, sleeping next to each other, texting every few minutes. I mean, we're growing up and soon we'd be in college with our own lives."

Mabel hummed underneath her breath to the tune of the radio, her steps never faltering or losing that surge of happiness. "What makes you say that our own lives aren't with each other?"

Pacifica smiled softly at her, letting the girl twirl once gracefully like a Victorian era princess. "You have the Shack," Pacifica continued, "and I have my parents' business. We have our own responsibility and one day we'll just- forget about each other. Believe me, Mabel, I would never ever forget you on my own but things happen, right? Just like what happened with your brother. I might..."

Mabel shushed her, a look of pain streaking across her features at the brief mention of her brother's mental health. Here, Bill realized, Mabel and Pacifica were only fifteen. The wounds were still healing and it was raw to the bone. Their relationship was hidden from everyone they knew, because harboring such news during a time like this...

"My brother's doing fine, and he sure as hell didn't forget me or his responsibilities after everything that happened. He's still the same old Dipper," Mabel explained, her eyes down to the dirtied floor of the Shack. "yeah, I got to give you a point for that- about things changing and all. But that doesn't mean it has to be a bad thing. We grew up- we had to. But we can chose _how_ to grow up."

"You're making no sense, Mabel," Pacifica told her with a wrinkle of her nose.

The brunette grinned widely, chocolate brown eyes wide with hope. "I have the Shack," the girl said, "you have the business. The both of us are against the world like old times but this time it isn't that stupid triangle and instead the horrors of- gasp! Adulthood! How horrifying!"

Pacifica giggled, the two almost tripping over the cords. It made them laugh louder, and the real Mabel giggled softly underneath her breath. 

"Okay, fine. It's- it's stupid. We fought against an overlord trying to take over the world to destroy it and won, for god's sake," Pacifica admitted with an eye-roll. "But sometimes, I just..."

"Just what?" chirped the brunette.

The blonde girl heaved a sigh, annoyed by the slightest that Mabel wasn't getting her point. She let go of Mabel's shoulder briefly to wave a hand frantically, as if it was going to prove her point. "You know- _that_."

"What that?"

"That!" Pacifica's face was bright red.

"Now _you're_ not making any sense, Paz."

"I'm afraid of losing you!" And there it was.

Bill's jaw clenched, his eyes peeking over to the real Mabel in curiosity. She was stone-faced, surprisingly, not a hint of emotional breakdown in her body language. In a way, she seemed lifeless, detached from the world somehow. 

He was about to speak, to make sure she was alright so they could move on, when her mouth opened and her words echoed with the memory. 

"You're never going to lose me," both of the Mabels said in unison. Although, Memory Mabel sounded more optimistic and sure- while the real one's voice caught in her throat. "I promise," added the two.

"H- how could you be so sure?" Pacifica demanded, her face flushed red from embarrassment and frustration. She ripped her arms away from Mabel's firm embrace, turning her back from her lover with regretful eyes. "There are seven billion people on this planet. Over twenty in which you have dated. How do you know that you won't find someone else, someone _better_? I never give you my attention, not fully at least. You- you deserve so much better than I am and-"

"I know because you anchor me to this world, Pacifica," both Mabels spoke. Memory Mabel reached forward, putting a reassuring hand on Pacifica's shoulder as the blonde girl put her hands to her mouth and shook. "You were there when my brother needed help. You were there when _I_ needed help. You were always here, Paz, even if you're half way across the world for some business trip." Again, both voices clashed, a lament that brought Bill to shift uneasily. One sounded soft and reassuring -the memory- and other sounded close to crying. 

"It doesn't matter where I am," the Mabels spoke softly, "I'll always find my way back to you. I won't leave you alone. I just won't."

Then Memory Mabel smiled softly, turning Pacifica around to face her. She put her hands on each of the girl's shoulders, looking at her with an intense gaze. "I'm never, _ever_ going to leave you alone," the Mabels whispered. The echoes of the words felt empty in the mindscape. 

"And what if you do? What if you leave me? And it wasn't even a choice anymore?" Pacifica dared to ask. Her hands trembled by her sides, and she closed them into fists to hide them from the girl across from her.

Memory Mabel smiled softly. Reassuringly. The girl back then didn't know what was going to happen. "Then I will make sure you know I'm still here," the pair assured her. 

The brunette took her hands off the blonde's shoulders to grab onto her lover's hands, clutching them tightly between her own two hands. She brought them up to their chest, in the middle of them like some sort of prayer. "I wasn't planning on loving you," both Mabels sighed. "But I'm glad I did, and it was the best decision my stupid crazy heart ever made." 

The memory's voice sounded happier, content with her words. But the girl beside Bill, the reality of loving someone and losing them, was speaking in a hushed tone- a tone too quiet, too regretful for a promise that never pulled through. 

"Promise me you'll never leave? Or at least you'll say goodbye?" Pacifica asked her. A tinge of hope and trust. Bill wrinkled his nose, looking away from the door that bore the memory. 

"I promise," both Mabels spoke in unison. Memory Mabel grinned widely, dropping their hands to the floor like a pact was sealed. The dead girl only frowned at the door with the memory, her brown eyes that usually accommodated with happiness and the split second before a laughter gone, replaced by the shiver of a lost dream. Of a broken promise.

"You promised her you'd say goodbye if you ever left," Bill murmured- a statement, not a question.

"Yeah," breathed the brunette. She blinked away her tears. "And I broke it."

Bill shook his head, his mouth going dry. Out of pity or regret, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that he had a job from the beginning here, and that was to make Shooting Star happy. Well, he couldn't do that, could he? He needed to seal her last promise, or else he himself was going to feel- ugh, _pity._

So the dream demon snapped his fingers, closing the memory door shut with a noisy bang that echoed through the stairwell. He snapped his fingers again, causing the stairwell to shake and move underneath their feet like they were in the middle of an earthquake. 

"Hey, what are you-?" Mabel squeaked out, looking underneath her feet in surprise as the stairs continued to tremble. 

"Hold onto the railings, kid," Bill barked out. As if to get his point across, he latched his hands onto the rails, bringing his body as close to it as possible. 

Mabel nodded, her eyes wide with terror as she grabbed onto the railings behind her, the stairs shaking more and more profusely. The staircase seemed to buck like a bull, almost throwing Bill off.

He held on tighter, grinding his teeth as his hands began to burn from grabbing on so tightly. The stairs shook so violently that his vision was nothing but a blur, his head feeling featherbrained and extremely light. The pit of his stomach ached, as if he wanted to throw up last night's contents all over the floor.

And at the climax of the worst feeling he had ever gotten since becoming a human vessel, the stairwell stopped. Or, more accurately, the floor stopped.

They were no longer in the stairwell of memories, the doors floating all around like a person taunting the pair of dream dwellers. Instead, they were laid across a marble floor, polished and gleaming. Lights lit up the room, and Bill could faintly identify that they were in a living room. The Northwests', to be exact.

He grimaced, rubbing his aching head as he pressed a palm to the cold ground, pushing his body upwards to stand upright. He could feel his navel and all around feeling like fire, heat almost intense even for someone like him. A rare feeling, but he could identify it even with his eyes closed. After all, it was the same sensation he was warned about as a new demon, the same feeling that he was slightly terrified of back when he first got banished to a world full of magic.

He was going to disappear with the overload of magic he was putting up.

And if he disappeared, so would Mabel Pines.

He set his jaw, narrowing his eyes at the ground almost as if it was the stone's fault. With a snarl, he forced himself up, almost falling down like a drunk man after eight shots in a row. His head began to pound heavily, the thumping in his ears getting noisily steady.

When the feeling of nausea disappeared, Bill swallowed down the bitter taste in his throat and mouth, rubbing his temples soothingly. His vision blurred in and out, until it focused on the girl in front of him.

Steadily, he began to notice the details. Like that the girl in front of him wasn't Mabel. That the girl was staring beside him in complete and utter shock and terror. That the girl was staring at Mabel Pines herself, the real one and not the one in memories. 

And poor, poor Mabel, not realizing that the look of horror on Pacifica Elise Northwest's face was not one of surprise and comfort, but one of disgust. 

By all means, the dream demon intended to warn the oblivious girl. Indeed he wanted to protect her, to make sure she wasn't hurt further by what he knew what would happen. But Bill Cipher couldn't stop it even if he was in hell. Nor could Will. 

Mabel charged forward, overwhelmed by the emotions that passed through her that Bill could see as clearly as daylight- happiness, joy, relief, excitement. Not a single negative emotion or pessimistic thought, and the demon couldn't help but flinch as her arms wrapped around the rigid, wealthy girl.

"Oh my God," she breathed, her voice sounding brittle and strained. If Bill was to poke that voice, he was sure it would break apart at his slightest touch. "Pacifica, I missed you so, so much. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't _ever-_ "

"What are you doing?" demanded the blonde woman, grabbing onto Mabel's arms and pulling her away with confused, dark eyes. If the girl was happy to see the optimistic girl, she clearly didn't show it.

"Uh, hugging?" Mabel snorted, looking at Pacifica with those same hopeful wide eyes. Bill grounded his teeth. Not this. Please not this.

"What for? W- what do you want from me?" Her voice, usually sounding demanding and cutting, sounded vulnerable and...afraid.

Bill was not the only one to see this. Mabel stepped backwards, watching Pacifica closely with a furrowed brow. "Hey," she whispered softly, watching as the blonde girl shook with what seemed like anger and disappointment. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Of course something happened!" the blonde snapped, causing the brunette to wince. "Y- you're not supposed to be here. N- not again. Please not again." Each word became quieter than the last.

"Again? Paz, hey, I'm-" Mabel consoled. Her face was one of confusion. Bill looked away.

"GO AWAY! STOP COMING BACK HERE AND TELLING ME EVERYTHING YOU DID WAS ALRIGHT!" Pacifica screamed, her words raw and fragile. Broken, after the days, months, _years_ waiting for an answer and goodbye that never happened. 

"Please stop. I'm only here for a few more minutes, I-" Mabel whimpered, reaching out a hand carefully like she was going out to pet a startled animal.

"I'll stop if _you_ fucking stop!" Pacifica snarled, turning her head wildly to the brunette. Her eyes were as wild as her words. Jabbing an index finger at Mabel's chest, she snapped, "Why do you keep coming back here? Do you _think_ it's funny to make fun of me like this? Do you?!"

"What?" Mabel frowned. "Paz, I would never make fun of you! You know that!"

"Then why are you here again? Why do you keep taunting me?" Pacifica begged, her words crazed and maddened. Bill set his feet, hands twitching to grab hold onto Mabel and force her out of this mindscape. But he needed more time to relax, to make sure he didn't disappear. So all he could do was watch mutely as the scene unfolded in front of him like some theater act that was no act at all.

"Again? _Again?_ Paz, I _just_ came here, there's no way you would have-" Mabel had said.

"STOP! Stop it! _Stop!_ " Pacifica wailed, fingers threading through her own hair as she pulled, going insane by just _looking_ at the supposedly dead girl in front of her. 

As if Mabel had just figured it out, she withdrawn the hand reaching out for a familiar face. "Look, I know this is kinda creepy, seeing a dead person after two and a half years of nothing, but you can trust me one hundred percent, Pacifica. I'm real, _this_ is real," Mabel soothed. Bill felt a lump grow in his throat. He felt like screaming, yelling at the girl to warn her of the things he had done in his free time. 

He did it out of spite- out of malice even. He saw no faults in his actions. He was, of course, a demon who had lived for over a trillion years. He needed something to do when Mabel's mindscape got a little boring, or when his partners were no longer pleasing for periods of time. What better way to do that then to ruin a person's mind with images of their dead lover, their dead promises?

"No, no it's not," Pacifica whimpered, stepping backwards from the person she believed to be another taunting image. "Please, just leave me alone. I'll give you anything you want, just leave me _alone._ "

"Pacifica, what's wrong? Please, just calm down. I'm not here to hurt you." _But she is here to hurt_ you, Bill thought with a bitter grimace. 

"Please stop."

"Pacifica, come on. Everything is okay, I'm okay, you're okay. I'm still here. I promised you I was."

" _Please,_ " moaned the sobbing girl. Her eyes, wild with terror and panic, darted at anything, _anyone_  but the girl coming towards her with a concerned look. Her eyes not once set upon Bill, as Bill clothed himself in invisibility to give the girls some space and to regenerate his magic faster. He was beginning to feel it was a bad decision. 

"Paz, _I'm here,_ there's nothing to worry about, I just came here to say goodbye and to say that I still love yo-"

Bill couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut as the sound of a slap reverberated through the large vast room, a thump following suit as a body hit the ground in shock. 

"How could you?" whispered the blonde girl. "How could you leave me all alone with two kids who needed you the most? How could you just _leave_ when you knew exactly what was happening, but still chose to leave because you thought you couldn't handle it? How, Mabel, _how_?"

Bill dropped his head, refusing to open his eyes to watch the argument. This was a fight he wished to never witness. If only, he thought, that humans were able to shut down hearing too. The look on Mabel's face, he could avoid. But the words and the pleading, he could not block. 

"I had no other choice, I needed to make a split second decision and I-" Mabel whimpered. 

"If you were the real Mabel, you would have _stayed!_ You would have stayed with your brother and saved him, you would have took good care of two children who were splitting images of you and your bond with your brother, _you would have stayed with everyone else and been selfless!_ And what did you fucking do? You go out and get killed, and while I don't know how and why, I know exactly that it was _your_ choice to die because Mabel fucking Pines does not go down without her consent!" Pacifica snarled. Her words stung, even to Bill, because undoubtedly, he was the one who caused the girl's death. 

No, he did not just cause a death. He left a twin without their other half. He left a lover without their love. He left two wonderful children to wonder what happened to their other parents and having that awful guilt that maybe it was _their_ fault that their other parent left, that it was all them who caused their remaining mother's pain. 

Sadly, he would have went through with it either way.

"Paz, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I had to, I just had to! You'd get it, won't you? You're wonderful and understanding, and that's why I loved you. No, _love_ you. Pacifica, I'm sorry for everything, I really am, but I-" 

"Sorry? You're _sorry_? Well, I'm sorry I ever bore your children, because I sure as hell regret it!" Pacifica snapped. Bill flinched, grinding his teeth even more until his jaw began to ache. 

"I only came here to say goodbye," Mabel mumbled. It was so quiet that Bill wondered if Pacifica had even heard. He sure as hell wouldn't have, if he was this angry and frustrated.

"Well, good fucking bye, Mabel Pines!" Pacifica said in a false cheery voice. "Now, _leave._ I'm tired of this. I'm tired of _you._ Just leave, and you'll do the both of us a great fucking favor."

"Why are you acting like this?" Mabel cried out in alarm. "I know I hurt you, and if I could take away that pain, I sure as hell would. But come on, I didn't have a _choice,_ Paz. No one wants to die. And I definitely didn't, especially after- after hearing that you were going to have my kids. _My_ kids, Pacifica. Who would leave their own children on purpose?"

"Apparently, you," the rich girl snapped. "Stop acting like you did it out of selflessness, because you did it out of greed. You didn't want to be here anymore, after everything that happened, so you let yourself die."

"I wouldn't kill myself, Pacifica! It. Wasn't. A. _Choice._ " Mabel's tone sounded clipped and short, a little angry despite the forced exasperation piled on top. The brunette was losing her patience.

 _C'mon,_ Bill begged, _just a little longer. Just one more minute and we can get out of here._ His navel and stomach was warming, like after a hot drink of hot chocolate. He was beginning to feel better, since his healing system as a demon was stronger in the mindscape. But with his magic so limited, it was still slow, and there was no telling how long it would take for Bill to feel energized fully again. 

"Then answer me this, Mabel," Pacifica said in a hushed whisper. There was a pause, before the young woman asked, "why now? After two and a half years, you visit me _now?_ Even as a vision, you were here for only a minute. What do you want from me?"

"I want nothing from you," Mabel said, disbelief coating her words at the thought of ever taking something from Pacifica. "I just- I needed to say goodbye to you. It's been eating at me for years, Pacifica, and-"

"Then why now?!" screamed the Northwest girl. "Why now, when I was already getting over you and settling down? Why now, when I was done crying over a dead girl who was never going to come back for me or the two lost twins who wanted nothing more than to meet their wonderful other parent they always heard about?!"

"I wasn't ready," Mabel whispered. Shamefully, regretfully.

Bill opened his eyes. And there, set out before him, was Mabel Pines getting up from the floor with one hand to her red, bruised cheek. Pacifica Northwest watched her without the same love in her eyes, replaced by the cold detached look that sent a shiver down Bill's spine. A ghost cannot feel physical pain. Mabel was only feeling the hurt from the slap because it emotionally scarred her more than anything else. 

She was hurt by the last person who she thought would hurt her.

Bill sighed through his nose, eyes darting between the brunette and the blonde. Crossing his arms, he set his feet firm, willing himself not to shake or flinch, no matter what happened. Showing compassion for another was a sign of weakness, and he stretched the boundaries he set for himself far enough.

"You weren't ready? _You weren't ready?_ " Pacifica asked in disbelief. She blinked at Mabel, hands shaking by her sides. Looking closer at the girl, Bill found evidence of the hardship of the few years. Eye-bags, small stress wrinkles, skinny figure that he was sure was caused by anorexia, and eyes that told him things that made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

"Mabel, you weren't just my damn star in the night, you were my damn sky," Pacifica said, her voice even and bare of any emotion. "I loved you more than anything in the world, and I'm more than sure that more than one person in Gravity Falls felt the same. Why would you throw everything away like that? Why?"

"There wasn't any other choice, Pacifica," Mabel mumbled. She sounded so much like a scolded kid being sent to the principal's office to be asked what happened in the lunch room that Bill couldn't help but let his lips twitch. 

But his amusement was short-lived, as words came out of Pacifica's mouth. Seven words that snapped something within the twin. "Dipper's happiness wasn't worth it, you know."

And just like that, the Pines girl punched Pacifica Northwest right across the cheek with a set jaw, a fire burning in those iconic Pines eyes of hers. 

Bill, startled by the words then by the sudden hit, stepped back when the Northwest brat hit the floor with a cry. Then he grinned maniacally, looking down at the fallen princess. 

" _Don't,_ " Mabel snarled, "say my brother wasn't worth it, because he sure as hell was."

Her anger, never really burning for more than five minutes at a time, vanished in a quick second when she looked down at her silently crying lover. She lowered her fist, horror coming over her angered features. 

Bill pursed his lips, clenching his own fists as Mabel began blubbering. "Pacifica! I- I'm sorry, I don't know why I- no, no, no. I'm so so so sorry, I didn't mean to, I was trying to-"

Anger, he found out over the years, was something that happened like a gun. One trigger, and it would set off, and whatever happened, just happened. No take backs, and usually without good reward. 

"I didn't mean to!" cried the brunette, going down on her knees to hold onto the Northwest girl. But sadly, Bill couldn't let her do it. It would just break her even further, and he couldn't bare to watch anymore. The demon was growing impatient, and he was ready to move on.

Latching his arms around the brunette's middle after striding forward, the brown-haired girl cried out in shock, elbowing him in the jaw to let her go. But Bill hold firm. 

Burying his head in her shoulder, he grounded his teeth together as he pulled back the struggling girl. Mabel was stronger than he deciphered, even as a ghost. She thrashed around and elbowed him several times, causing stars to explode behind his eyes. Of course, the demon still had his way, as he always did. Now was just a challenge.

"You're going to listen to me very carefully," he said slowly, his words quiet and close to her ear. Mabel stiffened, her arms going limp by her sides. She quickly forgot about clawing his arms and trying to rip them away from her, instead going slack as her breath slowed.

"You promised me five minutes. It took you seven," Bill hissed in her ear. His arms tightened around her mid-section, but thankfully not enough to hurt the girl. Ringing filled his ears, and he tried to ignore it the best he could. "We are going to your brother's mindscape, _right now._ No more talking to other people. No more chaos for now because my head feels like it's splitting open and it's all your fault." The girl winced underneath his arms.

"When I release you," Bill breathed, "do not speak to that girl. Don't look at her. Don't even _glance_ at her and ignore every word she says to you. We're leaving so we can finally have this over with and I can sleep. You got it, or is your brain too wittle little?"

Mabel nodded against his elbow, her words of passive agreement muffled by his arm. 

Bill released her immediately, stepping backward to allow her some room. She gulped down some air, rubbing her throat with a fist. She cleared her throat, blinking slowly. 

Pacifica Northwest still knelt on the floor, one hand rubbing her sore cheek while she looked down at the ground with a glare. She looked so vulnerable and weak that Bill let out a happy chuckle. 

Turning on one heel, Bill put a hand on the small of Mabel's back and ushered her away from the girl before Mabel could linger. 

As if the mindscape felt them wanting to go out (which it probably did), a door appeared in front of them against the wall after blue fire summoned it like magic (which, of course, it was). Bill gave Mabel a gentle shove, urging her to move forward. But before they could go through the door, and risking everything to go against Bill's words, Mabel tipped her head back, and whispered, "Goodbye. I love you."

Then they went through the door, Bill shutting it close behind them before Miss Direction could utter a disgusted response to them. 

The trips between mindscapes and going through Mindscape Central was always a game for the two. They'd laugh at whoever fell, tease the other about it, then argue and bicker over which door they should go over to next. 

But now, everything was quiet, as if someone took up a remote and pressed the mute button on them.

"I'm sorry," Bill murmured, his voice so quiet that he wondered if the girl even heard him. He played with his cuffs, wishing that he took up his cane again to play with it, but knew that using up more magic was going to waste things further. The dream demon didn't even know what he was saying sorry _for,_ exactly. For ruining Pacifica? For not stopping it? It just- felt right.

"It's okay," mumbled Mabel. "It wasn't your fault. It was for the best. I mean- at least I didn't break my promise, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed. Not excitedly, but at least he was _agreeing_ with something for once. "So, hey, let's get your mind off that girl, huh? Find your brother's mindscape for us, then we'll be gone lickety split."

Without even saying another word to Bill, or even giving him an indication that she heard him, Mabel strode forward, confidently walking over to four doors across from them. She stopped at the entrance, placing a hand over the cool handle and looking at Bill expectantly, as if waiting for something. 

"You coming, you goat, or what?" she grinned.

Bill couldn't help but grin back, relieved that the traumatizing experience did nothing to dampen her optimism. "A goat isn't an insult, Shooting Star," he reminded her. 

"You eat cans and trash, you bleat when you scream, and you're covered in hair."

"Not gonna argue with that logic."

"Thanks, I call it Mabel Logic."

Bill rolled his eyes, walking up next to her. "Just open the door and let's get this over with."

So she did, and for some reason that Bill himself couldn't explain, there was no wavering dizziness, no shaking that shook the ground beneath them or even a flash of light that blinded them for a couple seconds.

Instead, they stepped into a familiar forest, the sound of birds chirping in the distance as the sun beat down on them. Bill had to shield his eyes, stepping further into the forest as the soft click of a door being locked came upon behind them. They were stuck here for god knows how long, and Bill didn't realize how frightening that was until he looked over to his companion.

There was that hope and happiness back in her eyes, as if her fight with Pacifica never happened. She bounced in her smiley sweater, the balls of her feet going up and down as she walked forward, looking all around the bright forest in awe. She wasn't even wearing any shoes, he noted with a small smirk of amusement.

The thing about this forest was that it wasn't like Wendy's- a small forest around a cabin for her house. The rest of the Gravity Falls forest was just beyond her mindscape, the place never really having a big impact on her mind and well-being. 

Here, it was clear that they were in deep. Looking behind him, he couldn't even see the town. Not a single speck of a shop, or the Shack, or a light from the town itself. He only knew it was the Gravity Falls forest when he saw the familiar mushrooms growing on the trees and the broken down log that has been set here for years without rotting. 

Clearly, the forest had a big impact on the young boy. Finding the journal here, having his first heartbreak, saving her sister from the gnomes- things the boy had forgotten once and forgotten again as his memories of Mabel Pines and Bill Cipher were ripped out of his mind like painter's tape. 

Yes, the boy know remembered his first year here in Gravity Falls. Yes, he remembered Weirdmageddon. 

The only problem, of course, was the details. He never grew up with a twin. He never heard of a Mabel Pines. He never heard of a Bill Cipher and the guy who tried to take over the Falls was a demonic triangle he didn't know the name of, and didn't care. 

The boy he loved when he was eighteen was merely a nameless blonde boy who died in a car crash. 

"It's so pretty here, Bill," Mabel breathed, twirling around to take a look everywhere, drinking everything in. She laughed when a bird came close to inspect her, before darting away when she sneezed. 

He had to admit, he was a little breathless too. He expected a dark mindscape with nothing but a small cramped room like the unorganized person he was. He expected dark thoughts, dark memories, but instead got something so much more worst.

"Whoa, look! That's _awesome_!" Mabel squealed, pointing excitedly at the doors appearing on the trees. They appeared with each step Bill took, opening and closing for no reason- perhaps to reflect the messiness of Dipper Pines. He couldn't help but smile. 

But he felt his lips twitch downwards the closer he got to the doors. Mabel wrenched open the closest one, taking a peek for the sake of it. She inhaled sharply, moving to the side when Bill pushed through to see what she was looking at. He hadn't seen the boy in over two years- there were things that were bound to happen throughout those years.

And those years, of course, were spent with Dipper's new lover. 

A lump pressed itself against his throat as he heard that familiar, intoxicating laughter that always made his insides warm for some inhumane reason. The laughter that was always shared with him or Mabel, and with rarely no one but them. Hearing it again, after losing it for years, Bill felt his heart flutter. He grinned, despite himself. 

But the grin dropped, watching as Dipper Pines laughed not because of him, or because of Mabel, or because of a colleague, but because of Damon. Damon, the raven-haired boy who juggled four rubber chickens and accidentally making one fall on his head with a loud squeak of the toy. Damon, who made Dipper laugh out loud and made coffee come out of his nose right in the morning.

Bill scowled, closing the door almost immediately. They were here to find him and see if he was okay, then they would walk out of here. Nothing else. No snooping.

"Oooh, another one!" Mabel sang out, walked over to the tree across from them. 

"Shooting Star, I don't think you should-" he warned, stomping over to her reluctantly. If she went too deep into his memories, it was possible that they would get lost. Especially with a big brain like Dipper's, big mindscapes like these were very much plausible for lost beings and demons. 

He didn't have the strength in him to stop her from swinging the door open, averting his eyes as a natural response. 

But the curiosity got the best of him, and he glanced over at the door when he heard Dipper say, "I honestly hate you right now."

Excitement filled his stomach as he peered inside, feeling his hopes curl up and die when he saw that Dipper was merely smiling down at Damon while he swung on a hammock lazily, Damon leaning towards him with flowers right behind his back.

"Nah, you love me. Isn't that right, babe?" Damon purred, putting the flowers right across Dipper's chest. 

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Dipper snorted, putting the bookmark into his book. He set his book down to pick up the twin red roses, playing with the petals with a small smile.

"Ugh, why are you so cheesy?" Dipper groaned, throwing his head back and throwing the roses at Damon's face after a moment of consideration. 

"But I thought you liked cheese!" Damon whined childishly, making Bill snort out loud.

"No, I'm lactose intolerant," Dipper sassed.

"Hmph," answered the boy with a grumpy frown and crossed arms.

It was so child-like, that Bill just had to laugh. Mabel closed the door before they could see more, looking at Bill with a sparkle in her eyes. "Wh- what?" he got out, wiping away fake tears.

"You're laughing," she observed with a quirk of the lips.

"Yes, at how stupid that guy was!" Bill grinned.

"You do realize," Mabel told him sweetly, batting her eyelashes innocently, "that you acted a hundred times worst with Dipper than Damon was in that memory?"

"What, me? Bill Cipher? The soon-to-be overlord of the world? Puh-lease," Bill laughed. What did Mabel think of him as, a love struck buffoon?

"You're a love-struck buffoon," Mabel said bluntly. 

Bill rolled his eyes at her, walking away from the closed door. He motioned for her to follow him, following a familiar trail to the Mystery Shack. Mindscape or not, he could easily navigate through the woods of Gravity Falls with his eyes closed and his limbs tied behind his back. 

But even with Mabel not opening the doors out of curiosity, the doors opened themselves like they were wanting attention. Mabel looked inside each one due to human interest, and Bill had to clench his fists and keep his head down to make sure he did not look inside.

But nonetheless, he still looked at some of the memories unintentionally.

A whiff of conversation like, "Cuddle with me!" or "Fine, I'll go to the grocery store with you this time!". Laughter shared with Dipper's new lover. Important memories of gazing on the rooftop, on the ferris wheel, or fireworks that burned through Bill's eyes. 

Every single memory, always with Damon inside one way or another. Hell, the ones without him had the boy mentioned at least _once._ Like when Dipper was talking with his Grunkles around a dinner table, Damon kept being brought up. Or while Dipper worked on grading papers for his students, he kept doodling Damon and his name on a notepad while he daydreamed. 

Bill felt the hot stinging in his eyes, but never let the tears fall. He didn't cry. He never did. 

This was all just a phase and he'd get over Dipper and Damon's intimate relationship. He'd get over the brunet, and he'd see how happy the boy was and move on. He'd move the fuck on, fall in love with some better person, and he would be able to rule the world all over again. 

He kept chanting those reassuring thoughts in his head, sticking his eyes to ground and burning his gaze into the soil like he was trying to burn it. His fists were clenched tightly by his sides, Mabel _oohing_ and _aahing_ at every cute memory, completely oblivious to Bill's sudden silence.

He almost laughed. There were so many memories here- so many, in fact, that there were probably more memorable ones than an average human being with privileges. But every memory, every small detail, had something to do with _Damon, Damon, Damon._

The dream demon didn't even realize they were off track until Mabel suddenly stopped, her breathing laboring and her body going rigid.

Bill looked up, expecting some sort of memory that might have triggered something within her, but instead saw a dark sky. No birds, either. No more sun, just very dark clouds and a dark gray sky. 

He frowned, looking all around in the sky. What happened? Did they-?

Oh no. 

Bill's throat constricted, feeling panic push through his body. Mabel, barely even daring to breath, wasn't even moving an inch. Her eyes were set upon the door in front of them, a memory- no, _memories_ that they weren't inspecting to find. 

In front of them was a broken door, about to break and crack if someone were to touch it ever so slightly. On top, nailed sloppily like someone was trying to hang it up and leave as fast as they could, stood the words, "Mabel Memories".

"They never disappeared," Bill breathed.

Mabel, on the other hand, did not respond to his words, as per usual. Instead, she walked forward, her eyes cloudy and her posture stiff. It was like she was in a trance, and Bill didn't want to stop her.

She opened the broken door, and Bill was most surprised when it didn't collapse. Rather, it made a terrible squeaking noise, swinging open like an old door that hadn't been open in years- which, he thought, was probably true. 

There was a flash of blue light, the color of Dipper's soul, before it dimmed and opened up to a memory. A memory from when the twins were fifteen, one year after Dipper's insanity era. 

"Oookay, so you got the math trivia all correct!" chirped the most optimistic twin.

Dipper pumped an arm, whooping at his success as he paced the floor of their shared room in Piedmont. From what Mabel had just said, Bill bet an arm and a leg that the girl was helping her twin with a trivia contest coming up in their educational system. It was something Dipper would totally do. 

"Okay, okay, that's great!" Dipper told his twin with a relieved smile. "We'll go over the math trivia again after two more topics. It keeps the brain moving, you know. There's psychological explanation as to why-"

"Nerd," Mabel snickered, causing her nerdy twin brother to frown at her playfully. "Okay, okay, I get it, Bro-Bro. You told me this like five times in the past three minutes. Lemme just find a new topic."

She scanned through her clipboard, sticking a tongue out as she ran a finger through the words finely printed. She flipped through the paper, her eyes scanning each word and sentence. "Oh!" she cried out, jumping up from her comfy spot on her bed. Waddles got startled, oinking as he looked up from his nap on Mabel's lap. "We haven't done Canadian trivia yet. The True North strong and free!"

"How you found lyrics to the National Anthem of Canada, I'm not even going to bother to ask," Dipper sighed, Mabel giggling at his exasperation. "But, sure. I'm a little rusty on countries."

"Oookay, here we go!" she grinned, clicking her pen. "Question one- how many letters are there in the capital city of Canada?"

Dipper stopped pacing, looking up at the sky as he counted off his fingers. "Six. O-T-T-A-W-A."

"Good! True or false that Canada is the second largest country?"

"Come on, Mabel, you can do harder questions than that," Dipper groaned, "and by the way, it's true."

"Correct!" Mabel praised, putting the tip of her pen in her mouth as she flipped through the questions to find a harder one. It took her three seconds before she said, "How big is Canada compared to Germany?"

"About twenty eight times," answered the boy instantly. 

Mabel hummed in approval, clicking her pen once. "What's the sta- I mean, province to the right of Alberta and the left of Manitoba?"

"Saskatchewan," Dipper told her, the word foreign and weird on his tongue. He frowned and wrinkled his nose. "Very long name and please don't ask me to spell it out. I don't even know how people who live in that province even spell it on a daily basis."

"Sally And Sam Kiss At The Church Hall Each Wednesday At Nine," chirped Mabel. "That's how I remember it, at least."

"Why do you even-? Um, nevermind," Dipper said, shaking his head. "Next question."

"How much taller am I in Canada next to you?"

"MABEL!"

Real Mabel laughed along with Memory Mabel, the scene changing to them on the Stan O' War as it washed up on shore in Gravity Falls during one of their summers there. They seemed to be about thirteen. Just one year after Weirdmageddon and before everything went down to shit with the boy's mental health. 

They scrubbed the floors, Mabel seeming extremely bored while Dipper just seemed happy that they didn't have to scrub the poop deck. So as a solution, she whipped her dry rag across Dipper's back, causing the skinny boy to yelp in surprise. 

"Ya landlubber better keep scrubbin', or you'll be cleaning the poop deck in Davy Jones's Locker," Mabel said in a terrible pirate voice. 

Dipper only laughed, hitting her back with not a dry rag like hers, but a wet one he recently dipped in cold water. Mabel squealed, standing up and running away before her sweater could get any more ruined by the dirty water (who the hell wears sweaters in the summer, anyway?). 

The scene changed over and over again, from minor ones like them sharing the sink while they brushed their teeth, or to big ones like comforting one another after getting bad news from the schools or their recent new crush who rejected them out front. 

Each time, Mabel hugged herself tighter and tighter, seeming more uncomfortable than watching her memories with Pacifica. Of course, it was probably because these were lost memories. Memories that Bill had never come across before, or dealt with, for that matter.

The memory setting settled to one during their first summer after Weirdmageddon, both in the same attic in the same bunk beds. It was night time and they were just being settled in, when Memory Mabel began whimpering and Dipper turned over in his bed to look at her in worry. 

"What? What's wrong?" he asked in a panic, pushing up with an elbow to take a better look at her. He rubbed his sore eyes, blinking the sleep away that was going to take over if it were not for his whimpering twin. 

"N- nightmare," whispered Memory Mabel. She stayed hidden in her blankets, and the blankets shook with his body. Dipper frowned, watching her with flickering eyes as he looked for the top of her head to look at her in the eyes. 

"Weirdmageddon?" he asked tiredly. But the tone made it clear that he was wary of the subject, afraid of it, even. 

"Yes," Mabel admitted quietly. "C- can I sleep beside you? Please? I- I dreamt of you being killed by Bill and- and I just want to know that you're still here and-"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," her twin replied instantly, his features relaxing. Bill pursed his lips. Mabel wasn't the only one who had nightmares of that era. Her brother had them too, and so did her Grunkles and half the town. But only, her brother had it worst for some reason. Bill didn't manipulate him or anything- he was stuck in that stupid bubble for god's sake, only being able to see dreams for a couple seconds before being pushed out and feeling extremely worn out. That was the confusing part. But Bill chose not to dwell on it too much.

It wasn't clear on who was the most relieved twin. Dipper happily slid back against the wall and pushed his pillow against it, allowing room for Mabel to squeeze in and drop her pillow and blanket, turning over so her back was way from Dipper. They were just a few inches away from each other, just enough that if one were to have a nightmare, the other twin was there to hug them and hold them until they calmed down.

"Thanks, Bro-Bro," Mabel whispered, "you're the best twin ever, you know that?"

"I'm just doing my job," Dipper told her, moving so his back was towards her back as well. He yawned by the end of his sentence. "Go to sleep, Mabel. Wake me up if you get another nightmare." Then he thought for a while. "When I see that stupid triangle ever again, I'm going to punch him in the face."

Mabel laughed softly, her shoulders shaking with the light force. "I'm sure you will, Dipper," she teased. "A hero never dies, right?"

"Heroes," Dipper corrected. "Stan punched the shit out of Bill. You got us out of there with your grappling hook. Ford erased Stan's mind to erase Bill. Everyone had something to do with taking that bitch down."

"On a normal day, I'd scold you for using inappropriate language," Mabel yawned. "But fuck it."

Dipper chuckled softly under his breath. "Night, Mabel."

"Night, Dipper. Don't let the bed bugs bite." This time, real Mabel joined in with Memory Mabel's words- just like with Pacifica. It sent shivers down Bill's spine, and he watched in fascination.

"Heh. Yeah, you too, sis," replied the kind twin. 

"And um, Dipper?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you." Real Mabel's voice choked on those three words, and Memory Mabel sounded happy and content. But both had the sincerest intentions. "You know that, right, Bro-Bro?"

In the memory, even in the dark and his face turned away from Mabel, Bill saw the young boy smile the warmest of smiles. 

"I love you too, Mabel."

Mabel put a hand over her mouth, tears collecting at the sides of her eyes. But she merely blinked them away, refusing to cry at something so stupid like that. She didn't speak, and neither did Bill. They stood in silence, watching the twins slowly fall asleep with the comfort that they had each other, even if it was just for now.

And without a word, the memory changed. 

Bill's eyebrows raised instantly in surprise, for it was only Dipper in the memory, with no Mabel in sight. And, weirdly enough, he was older- eighteen, nineteen, somewhere around there. That...wasn't right. 

Bill's frown deepened even more, watching the young boy scribble on the desk on a journal of his own. His eyes were bloodshot without sleep, eye-bags deeper than before. But even with his tired look, making it clear that Dipper hadn't rested in days or weeks, the brunet's eyes were wide with stress and...terror?

The memory, as if sensing that the pair needed to see what he was writing, zoomed in and turned around like a camera. Memories were always like that- sometimes in third person, sometimes in first person. 

Dipper was writing frantically, his writing sloppier than it originally should be. His hands flew across the paper, as if trying to get his words down before it physically left his mind. Bill could almost feel the boy's cramping hand, but the boy didn't stop, or even falter. In fact, he seemed to write even faster.

Beside him, Mabel took a sharp breath. She was reading the words on the paper. Of course, as her twin, she was no stranger to the young man's writing. She could read it perfectly, and Bill felt stupid squinting and trying to read it out. But when he did, he couldn't help but feel the immense guilt and dread form even more at the pit of his stomach.

_Mabel,_

_Mabel, Mabel, Mabel. That's your name isn't it? Mabel Pines. Mabel Pines. Mabel Pines._

_M A B E L  P I N E S._

_Mabel, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I can't. I can't stop it. No matter how many times I write your name on paper or say it out loud, I'm forgetting you. Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford tells me it's just a relapse- that I'm going to be better and you'll still be in my mind. Mable. No, no, no- Mabel._

_Mabel, please help me. Tell me you're still out there. Tell me everything is going to be okay. It's going to be, won't it? You always tell me it will. You always tell me that things happen for a reason, and I trust you more than I trust myself with a razor._

_Mabel. Mabel. Mabel, you're slipping. I I I ccan feel you slippping fromm my memoriess._

_I'm forgetting so many things about you that I should, and it's scaring me, Mabel. Mabel, tell me everything is alright. Tell me you still love those sweaters. Tell me you used to have braces back when we were thirteen. No, twelve. Right? Right?_

_I'm so so so sorry. Mabel, help me._

_I got scared losing you once, I'm scared of losing you forever._

_Mabel, please tell me you're okay. Mystery Twins forever. Isn't that what you always said when we got angry at each other? Are you mad at me? Is that it, sis?_

_I can make it up to you, I promise. I promise I will. I'll make you the queen of the world, if that's what you want. I won't ever, ever take you for granted ever again, because I need you here more than anything and I'm going to slip._

_Mabel, just please tell me you still love me. Tell me that you're okay. Just tell me that you're okay and I'll be okay. Mabel, please._

_I still love you and I'm going to lose my mind if I go down with you forgetting that._

~~_I never wanted for this to happe_ ~~

Dipper never got to finish his letter. 

The door swung open, and Dipper closed his notebook in an instant, breathless and terrified of everything that was going on with his mind. 

The pair never got to see who caught Dipper as Bill closed the door shut, his eyes glowing a dark red.

"That is _it_!" he snarled, locking the door with a soft click. He was surprised that it once never collapsed, bringing his right hand up with his middle finger and thumb rubbing against each other. It shook with anger, and he was about to snap it, if it wasn't for Mabel screaming, "No, WAIT!"

Bill looked over at her, his eyes still lit with that same uncontaminated anger. "What now? Do you want your brother to have his memories back or what?" he asked in irritation.

"Yes," Mabel breathed. Then she shook her head, frowning to herself. "I- I mean no. I mean, of course I do but- ugh. Bill, please, just- just let me handle this. Please?"

Bill hesitated, looking at her carefully for confirmation. Mabel didn't have the power to bring back memories, hell he barely had the strength and magic to do it himself. What did she want, exactly?

Deciding that Mabel couldn't really do anything bad, as he could stop it anyway, Bill nodded in agreement, stepping backwards from the door to give her some space for the door. Mabel beamed at him thankfully, taking his place in front of the closed door.

Bill put his hands behind his back like an old fashioned gentleman, watching with a creased brow as Mabel just stared at the door with a blank look. He wondered if Mabel only wanted him to stop so she could just look at the door like this to relish everything, but he knew that Shooting Star worked way differently. 

A little too differently, and that was why he was surprised when she lifted both of her hands and placed them on both sides of the door, breathing in deep as she closed her eyes and concentrated on setting the wooden frame on fire.

Bill could only gape in surprise as the fire wound around the bottom, making its way upwards steadily until the entire wooden door was covered in the flames, crackling under the intense pressure.

His nose tickled with smell of burnt wood and flames, coughing into his fist once when flakes went in his mouth. Mabel calmly stepped backwards, her eyes cold and haltingly calm as she watched the memories burn to a crisp, turning into nothing but flakes in the sky. 

"Why?" Bill asked her in a hushed tone, as if even bringing up the subject was taboo. "Why would you burn his only memories of you? All I had to do was snap my fingers and he'd remember you, no fucking problem!" He was a little angry now. All those memories, gone in an instant because Mabel wanted them to burn. What the hell was she _thinking?_

"They're not gone forever," Mabel assured him. Quietly, too softly. "Just...harder to find."

"Why?" he demanded through gritted teeth once again.

" _Think_ with your stupid head, Bill!" Mabel snapped, turning around to face to him. Bill glared down at her, but didn't snap back. No one called Bill Cipher stupid. Absolutely no one would dare disrespect him like this. "Those memories- what are they also entwined with?"

When Bill did not respond quick enough for her liking, Mabel answered it for him. "You! There are memories of _you_ too, you know! If he were to remember me, what the hell would happen, huh? That faceless ex that got into a car crash you planted into his mind and told me about would no longer be freaking faceless because he'll know _it's you!_ He'll remember you, and everything you tried to help him with will go down in freaking flames!"

"But then he'll remember his happiness, won't he?" Bill argued. Why was he arguing with her?

"A happiness that died," Mabel murmured. "He'll remember me, he'll remember all the fun times we had- but he'll think of it as sad memories than happy ones because I'm freaking _dead._ I'm probably never going to come back and he has to live with that."

Bill clamped his mouth shut. She had a very valid point. In fact, the point was so well-grounded that he realized with a jolt that it was better if Dipper Pines forgot about his twin. 

He wouldn't have to visit her grave everyday and waste money on flowers. He wouldn't have to cry in his room for days on end on her death anniversary or their birthday that they always shared. Dipper Pines wouldn't have to worry about trying to save his dead twin and try to save his own life for once.

"And besides," Mabel carried on, her tone sounding more like herself as she cleared her throat. "It's going to break him if he suddenly got those memories and woke up with them. I sure will. It's better he finds out about me when the time is right and at his own pace than to force it on him, am I right?"

Before Bill could speak a single word, a blood curling scream sounded through the forest.

A scream that set something off inside the demon, adrenaline filling his every muscle and train of thought. So Bill ran, not bothering to inform the shooting star before doing so, running faster than he ever did in his entire experience of being human. 

He ran and ran and ran, running through branches that scratches his arms and limbs to the point that it stung and felt itchy. But he didn't care, for he only cared about the screaming so agonizing and familiar.

When he got there, Bill stopped in his tracks, breathless from both his run and the sight before him.

There, was Dipper Pines. Kneeling with his hands on his face, muck and mud covering every part of his body. There was no injuries, at least physical ones that Bill could see. 

"Pine Tree," he almost breathed out. The words were so close to his tongue, ready to speak out the name he never thought he would get the opportunity to say ever again. Pine Tree. 

But the words were held back, as his eyes traveled downwards to his Pine Tree's distress. Set out before the brunet was a dead raven-haired boy, guts open with the insides spilling out sloppily. The heart was missing, the area black and rotten. The face was contorted in terror, like the split second after someone realized they were going to die. Extremely dark blood pooled around the body and on Dipper's knees, the insides twisted and some bitten like a half eaten sandwich.

There was only certain demons who'd do such a thing, and Bill was ready to rip their hearts out.

Blinking, he brought his fingers up and didn't think twice of trying to spare his Pine Tree from this nightmare, even if it was a nightmare he was certainly enjoying, especially with that certain body. 

But when the body disappeared, it was instantly swapped out for another. Grunkle Ford.

Dipper screamed even louder, toppling backwards in surprise at his Grunkle's flayed body like it was a prize to be collected. It was absolutely disgusting.

Mabel choked back her vomit, looking away from the body. Bill didn't know how she got there, but he wasn't about to start. Calmly, he brought his hand up again. He waved it, like a magician motioning for the big reveal. 

So the body changed. 

Grunkle Stan. Then Dipper's mom. Then Dipper's dad. Then JJ. Then Soos and Melody. Then Wendy.

Sweat trickled down Bill's brow as he felt himself becoming tired, pouring his magic into every single flick, into every single snap of the fingers to try and get all the bodies to disappear. But once a body was displayed and vanquished by his magic, another one would keep appearing, more and more contorted than the last.

Bill let out a frustrated scream that hurt his throat, throwing an arm down to vanquish the body of a relative of Dipper's. 

And his body appeared. 

But it was faceless, the only features being the blond hair and his flayed stomach. But even then, the blond hair was curlier, only going off memory in Dipper's mind from two and a half years ago. No face, no identity. Dipper still cared, and that was what caused Bill to bite down on his lip so hard that he drew blood. The metallic taste was ignored, swallowing the taste down in one single gulp.

His head pounded with the draining magic, his legs becoming shaky and unstable. Mabel had to hold him up, letting him lean against her shoulder with a small frown on her lips as she watched Bill's unidentified body being looked upon in shock by Dipper.

He didn't scream like the others. He didn't even let out a strangled sob or a curse as his hands flew to the body to find a pulse. Instead, the boy stared at the body in shock. Complete, utter shock at seeing his "dead ex" for the first time in years. 

Bill knew that Dipper was wondering why the blond was faceless. Bill knew he was wondering why, exactly, did the body get there. 

This wasn't even a nightmare towards Dipper, as the body only confused the boy than scared him. Bill had a feeling it was a nightmare directed to him, a nightmare that seemed to be coming true ever since that mall incident: that Dipper wouldn't remember him, that Dipper would stop caring about him.

Bill didn't scream. He couldn't, he just couldn't. Mabel grunted under his weight as he almost buckled down, ready to torment the other demon controlling Dipper's dreams. Murder was the only thing on his mind, tinting his vision red as he pulled away from Mabel to look around with a snarl that sounded inhumane even for him. 

He looked everywhere and anywhere his eyes landed on. On the trees, behind Mabel, on the rocks. Anything for an indication that someone or something was with them, but there was none. Absolutely none, even with his strong senses around the mindscape.

Bill really did scream this time, breathing heavily as his chest felt heavy and weak, causing him to clutch it with one hand like a stroke victim. He pivoted on one heel, turning around to face the shell-shocked Dipper.

And right on time too, to watch his body come to life like a zombie. But unlike the undead portrayed in the movies and media that Bill sometimes saw, his faceless flayed body was quick and agile, bloody hands grabbing onto Dipper's neck and pushing him down.

Mabel squeaked out, about to run forward to help her brother when the faceless body turned to look at her with nothing but a smooth face. Mabel's mouth clamped shut, her eyes wide with fear as she stepped backwards dizzily. If she was in the real world, Bill had a feeling she would literally piss her pants. He would have too, if he was a literal human instead of a demon inside a human body shell.

He set his jaw tight, feeling his body tremble with rage as his "body" began choking Dipper.

And to his horror, this flayed body with no more guts and a heart and even a _face_ reached over with a dirty, filthy hand and forced Dipper's jaw down with a wet snap.

Dipper cried out weakly, fingers invading his mouth in an instant. Tears filled his eyes and his nails clawed against the faceless body's arms, but the body didn't seem to care, or maybe even feel. Instead, the body's index finger and thumb wedged themselves on an incisor at the very front. 

Bill let out a scream that tore through his throat, straining it even further. He ran, reaching out for Dipper. Too late, as the body tore out the incisor with not a single strained muscle or cheer of victory. The faceless body tossed the bloody tooth away, leaning down to get another as Dipper begged and sobbed. There was blood all over the brunet's mouth and lips, his gums red from the sudden detachment.

The dream demon was crazy with rage now, knocking the body off Dipper with a howl of madness. He choked the body, shaking it profusely with pulled back lips that resembled a snarling dog. 

It didn't even process through him as the body began to smoke. From his angered magic or from something else calling him away, Bill couldn't tell.

And when the body finally disappeared into nothing, Bill got up, screaming at the spot where the body was. Hot tears prickled at his eyes, but it wasn't from sadness that humans always associated tears with. It was just a natural human reaction to heavy emotion, and his tear trigger was apparently madness.

Mabel watched him scream out his lungs with hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with terror and shock. She refused to move, refused to come over to comfort him as she continued to gape at the scene just unfolded before her in the span of a couple minutes or probably even less.

And when he done screaming his lungs out, Bill Cipher turned around, calming his features to look exactly like what Dipper thought he was. Will, William.

"I'm glad you're safe, Pines," he spoke roughly, trying to sound as calm and orderly as possible. He cleared his throat to achieve this even further, looking at Dipper with a soft gaze.

"W- Will," Dipper stammered, using his elbows to get up shakily from the floor. His eyes were locked onto his, the glass eye seeming to gleam in the darkness. "H- how did you find me? Where did you find me? What- what the _hell_ is going on?!"

Will licked his lips, averting his gaze from Dipper to meet Mabel's gaze instead, if only briefly. She smiled tightly at him, the only smile she could manage from an experience like she just encountered.

So William looked back at Dipper, a plan forming in his head. If he could make a deal with Dipper in exchange for a pencil, he would do it. But deals had to satisfy both people for it to work properly, and he wasn't going to risk everything.

"I'll make you a deal, kid," Will purred, reaching out towards the brunet with a hand. It lit up with blue fire. Dipper glanced at it warily, then looked back up at Will. In the mindscape, the perception of reality was warped- after all, the place was like a dream state. A familiar face making a deal with blue fire coming out of their hand was exactly what a dream was like. 

"What kind of deal?" asked the distrustful boy.

"You give me exactly what I want, and I'll let you forget this."

"Everything?" Dipper murmured, looking into Will's eyes with hope. "Everything, including Damon's- Damon's dead body?"

Will felt something in him hiss in disapproval. It hissed at him to stop this, to just let this go, make Dipper forget, and everything about this stupid deal would never have to happen. But the other part of him, the greedy side, the Bill Cipher in him, told him to do it. The greed and selfishness to have Dipper all over again. He wanted Dipper, _right now._ And he was an impatient demon. 

"Yes," he assured the brunet. 

"Then deal."

Dipper shook hands with him. A harmless deal, like the puppets way back then. Of course, it _was_ harmless this time, but still. 

Absolutely lovely. William and Bill Cipher grinned in unison.


	9. All The Better For Seeing You

_"Then one night, as I closed my eyes,_  
_I saw a shadow flying high_  
_He came to me with the sweetest smile_  
_Told me he wanted to talk for awhile_  
_He said, 'Peter Pan. That's what they call me._  
_I promise that you'll never be lonely.'_  
_And ever since that day..."_

**[Lost Boy | Ruth B](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuHdkSj5nGc) **

* * *

Dipper woke up that morning with a migraine. 

Or, at least, a pain so bad that he barely registered being in bed. 

He groaned out in dull pain, turning around so his back was against the bed. His chest was slick with sweat, his hair matted close to his forehead in the stickiness. He didn't feel hot, or even remotely warm. So why did it feel as if he ran two thousand miles out in the baking sun?

Dipper reached over with a sore arm, scratching his scalp. The top of his head felt like it was screwed off and hot glued back into place, and his mouth was so dry it felt like a desert. Christ- what happened to him last night? Did he go out drinking?

No. No, he didn't. He got saved.

By an acquaintance he knew as William. But that wasn't right, could it? All the boy did was go out to run some errands after class, and someone attacked him from behind. Dipper couldn't help but shiver at the mere memory. 

He was undressed from the top, his jacket being pulled away and his t-shirt almost off his head. He remembered screaming, he remembered screaming bloody murder with his heart pounding in his chest in triple time. He was only twenty, he wasn't supposed to be raped, he had a career, a family, a _boyfriend._

Then out of nowhere, someone shouted for the intruder to get off of him, and the weight being pressed against the brunet was lifted, allowing him to gulp down greedy amounts of air that he wasn't able to get due to the pressure on his chest. He remembered feeling like his heart was going to be ripped out of his chest, due to the heart problems he maintained since he was eighteen or even younger. But thankfully, his heart managed to bare it enough that he could lift his head. 

He saw William, the boy who ran away from him at the mall without a reason, the boy who seemed nice and kind, beating up an older man who tried to rape poor Dipper Pines. 

And when the blond boy finished, waiting until the disgusting man was unconscious and bleeding from every single spot, he walked over to the shell-shocked boy, holding out a thankfully-not-bloody hand and helping Dipper get up from his spot on the floor. He asked over and over again if Dipper was alright, and Dipper in return, couldn't help but say thank you over and over. 

"How can I repay you?" he asked that day, "If it weren't for you, I would've been raped, murdered maybe. Is there anything you want, William? I'll give it to you, I'll do anything, I promise."

His savior merely smiled at his words, softly and modestly, and Dipper knew that telling him that he would do anything wasn't such a bad decision. This man was the kindest person he had ever known, and surely he wouldn't do anything bad, right?

"I don't have a place to stay," mumbled his rescuer. He sounded ashamed, embarrassed by the fact that he was homeless. William continued on, saying that his money ran out and he went bankrupted, and there was no one to help him as his family in Germany had no way of contact, or even where he was in the world. For days, he was forced to sleep outside in the cold night, with no one but his bags and a dog. William was no doubt shamed by his own sob story, even apologizing to Dipper afterwards for sounding needy.

Dipper didn't mind it though, and almost immediately said, "Then I'll let you stay at the Shack for as long as you like. I can even try and help you find a job, if you want."

Then Will smiled, and nodded to his words gratefully. 

And that's all what Dipper Pines remembered from yesterday night, leaving him to wonder what, exactly, happened afterwards. Did he regret saying those words to William, at least? No, of course not. Will seemed nice enough, and he knew that the man wouldn't cause any real trouble in the Shack anyway. Besides, they had an attic they haven't used in years. They just needed to clean it out and viola, a new room for a new guest. It was the least he could do.

Dipper stayed in bed for God knows how long, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about what he should do today. It was a Thursday, meaning he still had class to take care of and a math test at that. But, his class didn't start until nine in the morning, and it was only five. Surely, he had time to take care of things while he waited. 

Things like informing his boyfriend and Grunkles that a new addition was going to be in the Shack for now on. 

He grimaced, turning on his shoulder to look at his alarm clock. 5:25 AM. Usually, Dipper would sleep in until eight, but after everything that had happened, how could he?

He turned on his other shoulder, opening his mouth to say a throaty good morning and daily sprinkle of kisses to his boyfriend.

With a frown, Dipper stared back at an empty bed with nothing but himself and wrinkled bed sheets on it. Damon's side of the bed was thrown back messily, like he simply got up and left, as his messy boyfriend usually did. Dipper always had to make the bed for them, but even he didn't like doing it that way. 

Maybe Damon got up early to work in the Shack early. Yeah, it was likely he did. Thursdays were when boxes of new stuff came in, and they always had to get up early to set them up before the tourists came in. Even after two years, Damon was dedicated to the Shack, and Dipper loved that about him. 

When his head was reduced to a dull ache at the top as if someone just socked him with a hammer, Dipper got up from the bed, supporting his weight on the mattress and gripping onto the bed sheets. He yawned, stretching his aching back. 

Dipper then got up, dressing up into his usual professor attire. White long-sleeved dress shirt, black tie, black slacks, the works. He combed his hair downwards until it was neatly flat on his head, sighing in frustration when he inspected the ends of his hair in the mirror. It was starting to curl again. Damon hated his hair curly, and he had to admit that he hated it that way too. Though, it was much easier with curly hair. But he couldn't complain- flat hair made him look more...serious, at least.

After brushing his teeth quickly in his bathroom, Dipper stumbled into the kitchen, trying to put on his socks while he hopped inside. In the kitchen stood his two Grunkles, Stan reading the newspaper on the dinner table while Ford cooked up some pancakes.

As usual, Chip sat on the window ledge of the kitchen lazily as he napped. Usually, the cat would've been out hunting for rats and birds and wouldn't come back until midnight. But of course, five AM was too early, even for cats.

"Hi Grunkle Stan, hi Great Uncle Ford," Dipper greeted quickly, stuffing his feet into some polished shoes. He sat at the dinner table across from his Grunkle Stan, the two Grunkles echoing back his hello. Almost instantly, a plate of pancakes drizzled in syrup and butter was set out in front of him, along with a fork and knife. 

Ford sat beside Dipper with his own plate of pancakes, another one across his twin brother. The three picked up their utensils, digging in to their food like the hungry men they were. If Damon were here, the table would have been complete.

His two Grunkles, even though they were close to that age where they would be bed-ridden all day and knitting, were still alive and healthy. So healthy in fact, that Ford and Stan still went out to work on projects and such. Almost completely white hair, wrinkles, eyes that told old stories. Age took a toll on their bodies, but not the way they acted. They were still his Great Uncles, none of their fires going out. 

"What made you get up so early, kid?" Grunkle Stan chuckled, syrup dripping down his square chin. His Grunkle used one hand to rub his chest in subconscious pain, but the old man was still going strong either way.

Dipper swallowed his pancake bit before answering. "Uh, nothing really," he answered truthfully, cutting up his pancakes, "I just thought it would be a good change to get down here earlier, even if it's just for today. My students have a test today again."

"Surprise quiz?" Stan asked with a wrinkle of the nose. "Damn it, Dipper. If you knew how torturing those quizzes were, why are you doing that to a whole new generation of kids?" Ah, the same old Stan.

Dipper chuckled along with Ford. "They have a tough one next month," Dipper explained. "I need to get their minds working, you know? Besides, we covered everything on that test in the last week or so. Nothing too hard."

"Well, I'm glad you're thinking of ways to get your students out of that school alive," Ford chuckled, jabbing a fork with a pancake piece on it at Dipper. "Also, I think it's still incredibly funny of you to care about them when all you did before going to college was complain about how stupid teaching was."

"I was a young, inexperienced boy," Dipper sighed dramatically. He pierced his pancake for effect. "Besides, teaching was the only profession that even seemed _mildly_ interesting to me. I mean I can write and do rocket science, but they're not for me, you know?"

"Oh, I know," Ford agreed with a bob of his head. "I, myself, had trouble with picking a career. It took me way longer to pick than I should have. But I'm glad you found something that makes you happy, Dipper."

"Are you kidding me?" Dipper scoffed, stuffing his cheek with pancake bits, "I get to work an easy job for less than ten months, six hours or so a day. Then for two or three months I get to work at the Mystery Shack. It's literally the career I ever wanted, Great Uncle Ford."

Ford and Stan barked out a laugh. "That's my nephew," Stan chuckled, taking a swig of orange juice, "picking the best and easy job, just like his Grunkle Stan."

"Why did my career pop up in this conversation again?" Dipper asked with a small laugh of his own. 

"Well, for one," Ford said, pausing for dramatic effect, "I heard you're getting published for a history book you wrote about Gravity Falls."

"What? Wait, really? Damn it, Dipper, you should have told your Grunkle sooner, I would have thrown you a party!" Stan grumbled, slamming his fist on the table in mock anger. Dipper smiled softly shyly. 

"I did it during my free time. I got bored and I just, well, wrote a whole six hundred paged book," Dipper said with a careless shrug, "Candy Chiu found out and told Miss Northwest. She asked me if she could publish it and I said yes."

"Well," Stan said with amusement in his eyes, "how about that for 'not being cut out for being a writer'?"

"I said _full time_  writer, Grunkle Stan," Dipper corrected, putting another pancake bit into his mouth. "I'm not cut out for dedicated half my time to writing but I sure as hell can do it once."

"That's my boy!" Ford laughed merrily. He patted Dipper heavily on the back, seeming more like a proud father than a Great Uncle. "Maybe I could teach you some writing tricks here and there too if you keep this up. Hell, one day you might even become famous. Dipper Pines, a famous writer." His Great Uncle sighed in wonder. "I always wanted to be a famous writer, and I would have been if I didn't get stuck in that stupid portal," Ford added as an afterthought, a slight bitterness to his tone.

Dipper gave his Grunkle a small smile. "Well, anyway," Dipper said, catching his Grunkles' attentions. He cleared his throat, sitting more forward in his seat as he ate the last of his pancakes. "Has any of you seen Damon? He wasn't in bed when I woke up."

And almost instantly, his Grunkles shared looks of distaste.

Dipper almost sighed in irritation, his mind going, _here we go again._ Ever since he told them that he went on a date with Damon two summers ago, his Grunkles acted like it was the end of the world. Although, they _did_ turn down their arguments with Dipper when they saw he was genuinely happy with the boy, but they still grumbled nonetheless.

Something about Damon pissed the two off, and Dipper always asked them what, exactly, made them so bothered. Of course, the same old "I'm just looking out for my nephew" always came up, but Dipper knew it wasn't just that. It was always secrets and more secrets with his Grunkles.

"Ah, you mean the idiot?" Stan asked his great nephew with obvious distaste in his voice. "Went out to grab us some groceries. 'Said he'd be back by five, but I don't see the bloody liar anywhere, do you?"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "He probably got stuck in traffic somewhere," Dipper huffed. "Grunkle Stan, you seriously don't have to call him an idiot."

"I'll call the idiot an idiot if I want to, kid. No hard feelings though, right?" Stan said, laughing at his own joke. He chugged down some gulps of orange juice, placing the cup heavily back onto the table with a thump. Ford merely watched the exchange with an arched eyebrow, as if assessing the situation and wondering when he should jump in.

"Dipper," Ford suddenly called out, right before Dipper could make a witty comment back at his Grunkle. Dipper looked up at his Great Uncle, surprised to be called out. Ford looked at him with a strange look, as if he was looking at a new species he hadn't seen in the forest before.

"What happened to your birthmark?" his Great Uncle asked. 

Dipper's hand flew up to his forehead, feeling for his big dipper birthmark. He felt the bumps, tracing the constellation perfectly. He frowned, tracing over it once more. Nothing. Nothing was wrong with it, or at least out of the ordinary. "Great Uncle Ford, what do you-?"

"My brother just thought he saw something," Stan cut off, looking at Dipper's birthmark then to his twin brother. "Apparently, he's been seeing things for a while now."

Ford smiled sheepishly, adjusting his glasses with the tips of his fingers. "Sorry, Stan's right, I just-" his Great Uncle began. He sighed through his nose, a breathy exhale that matched much like Dipper's after a long day of work. "I'm sorry, Dipper, I thought I saw something so I-"

"No, no, it's alright," Dipper told him, swallowing his last bit of pancake, "you're getting old. There's bound to be some misunderstandings here and there, right?"

"Yes, of course. You're absolutely right," Ford agreed, chopping his pancakes to tinier pieces than it already was. Dipper looked at his Great Uncle's hands. Up close, Dipper could see that they were trembling and shaking, no matter how hard Ford tried to hide it. Age definitely took its toll.

"Well, I have to go. I'm going to go through the class schedules before I leave. It's the most productive thing I could do, at least," Dipper dismissed himself, picking up his plate and empty glass. 

And then he sat down, much to his Grunkles' confusion. He winced at their confused looks. 

"Oh, uh, actually," Dipper added, his words coming out as a jumble, "I was actually meaning to ask you two something. I know that I really don't have to ask permission anymore because the Shack belongs to Damon and I and all that, but I just really wanted to make sure you two were okay with it."

"Okay with what?" Grunkle Stan inquired with suspicion dripping from his tone. He forked in some pancakes into his mouth, chewing twice before adding in, "What did you do this time, Dipper? Steal a car? Followed by cops? Bah, don't worry kid, we'll have them off your trail in no time."

"Oh, no, no!" Dipper quickly told them before they could continue on. "I- I didn't steal anything or do anything illegal, I swear, it's actually-"

Stan sighed and grumbled in disappointment, but waved a hand to let him continue on. Ford arched his eyebrow in usual Stanford fashion, his six fingers on each hand drumming on the table to wait for Dipper's awaited question. "Well, you see," Dipper said, adding in a nervous laugh.

"I was out after class to get some things, and well, some guy jumped me and attacked me behind an alley and-" he started. 

Grunkle Stan's fist rattled the table, and Ford immediately pulled out a pocket gun, setting it down on the table as both men yelled, "A GUY WHAT NOW?!"

Dipper breathed out a sigh through his nose, knowing that the moment it came up, his Grunkles would react similarly to this. "Yeah. The guy was going to rape me, actually, taking off my clothes and all," he said again, holding up a hand when he saw his two Grunkles open their mouths in protest and anger. He stared back at them with a _let me finish then you can talk_ look.

"I was screaming and trying to get out of there, I swear to you both that I did," Dipper continued on. "I was going to be killed out there, raped and murdered without a clue. But some man I met back at the mall that I barely knew came to my rescue and saved me."

His Grunkles visibly relaxed, at peace for knowing that their great nephew was safe. "Oh thank the heavens," Ford sighed. "So what the man do? He saved you and then what? Please don't tell me you-"

"Nothing bad happened, Great Uncle Ford, I swear," Dipper cut off. He shifted uneasily in his seat. "But, I really wanted to repay him, you know? So I asked what he wanted and-"

"Money? Assistance? Goddamn it, Dipper, you're smarter than that! No money is worth the price for that, you could've left-hooked yourself out of there!" Stan grumbled. Ford hit his brother behind the head with the back of his hand, causing Stan to yelp and rub the back of his head with a glare aimed at his brother. 

"Go on, Dipper. What did he want?" Ford gently asked of Dipper, trusting that his great nephew wouldn't make any stupid deals. Dipper almost cringed.

"Well, this guy became homeless," Dipper mumbled, his voice so low that he doubted that his Grunkles' aged ears would have picked it up. "He needed a place to stay and I told him he could stay in the Shack tomorrow at any time he wanted."

"YOU WHAT?!" shouted Ford, rattling the table with a fist reserved for Stan.

"Oh, no money then," said Stan, spooning some syrup-induced pancakes into his mouth.

Dipper massaged the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes briefly. He opened them, seeing his Grunkles stare at him in disbelief and confusion. A long time ago, Dipper corrected his vision with help from his Grunkles and his boyfriend. Eating a new diet, testing some potions (that ended badly but was reversed), and even taking eye exams more frequently than usual. Soon, he got his one working eye corrected, but his other eye? 

It was gone forever, replaced by a glass eye that Grunkle Ford gifted him not so long ago. It allowed the eye to move around with his working one, as if he was a normal young man with a normal life. He couldn't see through it, but at least it made him feel normal. 

"Dipper, do you not know the risks of allowing a- a _stranger_ to come live with us?" Ford asked in disbelief. "I don't care if he saved you, I mean I'm extremely grateful he did but- to live with us? For how long? You said so yourself that you barely knew him! He could be a murderer himself, a psychopath, a-!"

"-perfectly normal human being who just saved our great nephew," Stan butted in with a roll of his eyes. He sipped some of his orange juice, and Dipper could tell that he couldn't wait to get his hands on a coffee mug soon. "You've lived in Gravity Falls for way longer than I have, Ford, and even _I_ know that this place is stranger than my back hairs. But even then, the amount of people I stumbled upon are normal folks who do nothing but waddle around."

"The majority, Stan!" Ford argued. "This could be the one percent that could be a psychopath, a _killer!_ There is no way in hell we're going to-"

"Yeah, kid, the other kid can stay," Stan told Dipper. "He saved you, we owe him more than that."

"Stanley!" Ford snapped. 

"Stanford!" Stan mocked in his scarily accurate imitation of his brother's honey-coated voice. 

Dipper watched silently, not knowing what to do as his Grunkles began arguing in the other's voice. His head hurt even thinking about who was who anymore.

"Oh look at me, I'm Stanley Pines, I like taking identities and homes from my own twin brother!" Stanford mocked in a gruff voice that sounded _exactly_ like Grunkle Stan.

"Oh look, it is I, Stanford Pines, six-fingered scientist person thingy who does nothing but worry about everything and anything! Especially about my brother's grammar!" Stanley imitated. Dipper shriveled away, making himself look small as his two Grunkles bickered.

"I'm just doing what I can to protect our nephew, Stanley!" Ford said in his own, slightly irritated voice.

"I'm just doing what I can to protect our nephew, Stanley!" Stan mimicked in Ford's voice. He put some pancakes into his mouth, the last on his plate. He chewed, watching as his twin brother shook in slight anger at Stan's stubbornness.

"Stanley, you're not listening to me!" Ford shouted, banging the table so hard that Dipper's own plate launched two inches in the air. He flinched, and it got Stan's attention enough for him to swallow his pancake and look at Ford blankly.

"Dipper is our only great-nephew left, and you want to lose _him_ too, even after we lost _her_ for almost the same reason- a guest the two thought would be harmless?"

Dipper's brow furrowed in confusion, and his eye flickered over to Grunkle Stan. He was expecting the stubborn man to scoff, to scowl and cross his arms in typical Stan fashion. He expected the man to brush off his brother's comment as he usually did.

But Grunkle Stan's face was one of grief and despair, as if he was remembering something he truly, genuinely didn't want to remember. It was a look of a man who was vulnerable, about to collapse at a single more jab of his brother's words. It was like Grunkle Stan was no longer there, replaced by a man who was fit to be a Great Uncle, not a Grunkle- someone who was clearly old and weathered down by old unwanted memories.

"He is no longer here," Grunkle Stan said in a gruff whisper, "that- that _thing_ is gone and he's never going to show his face here as long as we're here."

Then Grunkle Stan cleared his throat, turning to look at Dipper as if his scene just didn't happen. "Dipper, I trust you," Stan told him firmly, "it's your Shack, your rules. Ford and I are only staying here for a vacation anyway, then we'll be back on the seven seas with our Stan O' War. It's a risky decision, hell even I know that, but you have a good heart."

Ford blinked, then looked sideways at his brother. But to Dipper's surprise and gratefulness, Ford did not argue. He merely opened his mouth, then thought better and closed it shut. He looked at Dipper, focusing on his great nephew. "This man who saved you," Ford murmured, "what is his name?"

The name was already out of him before he could even process it. "William. Will, for short."

"Old fashioned name," Stan hummed. "I haven't heard that name come up in years since I was twenty. So, he's homeless? For what reason?"

"He was a German on vacation here," Dipper began, tracing patterns on his pants under the table. He shouldn't be worried by this point, he really shouldn't. But he was, and he didn't know why. "Something happened to his bank and he lost all his money. He has nowhere to go, or friends and family to turn to."

"Goodness, that's absolutely terrible," Ford sympathized. He set his fork and knife on top of his plate with a clang, finished with his food right on time with his brother. 

"No mom, no dad, no friends in Germany he could even _try_ and call instead?" Stan asked curiously, standing up shakily from the table. Ford put a six-fingered hand on his brother's shoulder, making him sit down. He took Stan's plate and his, standing up himself to put away the dishes. He came back a moment later, just in time to hear Dipper's words. 

"None," Dipper confirmed, "he's an orphan and he had no close friends in Germany who would even _try_ to help him. Unemployed, no home, nothing to live for or to care about- but he still went out and saved me." 

Ford shifted in his seat, rubbing his chin as he frowned to ground in thought. Stan crossed his arms, already have made his decision of letting the boy live with them. Dipper suddenly realized that it was because of what happened to Stan himself- kicked out of a home for a reason he truly did not mean, and no place to go or people to contact. 

Ford, glancing at his brother and his face shifting from concentration to surprise, looked back at Dipper with raised eyebrows. Dipper had a feeling that the twin had the same slap to the face, knowing perfectly well of the twin who was kicked out by their own father. 

"Fine," Ford said with a heavy sigh. He took off his glasses, cleaning them off on his shirt while Dipper relaxed his muscles, glad and relieved for the go-ahead. "But the boy stays in the attic and can't go into the basement without any of our permission- in fact, don't even _tell_ him about the basement. William has to help around the house some way or another once in a while, and I don't want sudden interruptions in the middle of the night. I need my sleep, and if I hear ruckus as if I just moved into a college dorm, I'm going to-"

"We get it, Stanford, _we get it,_ " Stan said with a roll of his eyes. Dipper couldn't help but grin.

Stan's eyes rested back on Dipper. There was a sternness in them, like a teacher telling their students a very important formula they have to know for their finals. "But seriously, Dipper," Stan added seriously, "do not let that kid get anywhere without one of us knowing. Sure, he could be trustworthy, but there are things in this Shack that would probably frighten onlookers. You catch my vibe?"

Dipper nodded mutely, unbelievably relieved. The attic was clean enough- a sterile bed covered in dust, but there was nothing in that room that was actually dangerous or messy, as they cleaned it out a long time ago for situations like these. There was that empty room in the hallway, a spare one that seemed like no one has lived in it in years, but Dipper knew that his Grunkles didn't want a stranger sleeping there as it was technically the only place in the house where you could hear anything and everything- which included the experiments and explosions that Grunkle Ford had in the basement once in a while. 

"Thank you, thank you!" Dipper thanked them in relief, getting up from his seat on his chair to reach over and give both of his Grunkles a huge hug.

"Why are you thanking _us_? It's not even for you," Grunkle Stan chuckled, patting Dipper awkwardly on the back. Either way, both Grunkles hugged him back with gusto and strength, something old men shouldn't really be doing without broken bones and hips.

"But the guy helped me and I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night if I didn't help him back," Dipper breathed out, letting go of his Grunkles with a small smile. "Thank you again. I know that even if you guys say no I'd be able to do it, but it helps if you guys approve."

"You have no problem ignoring our disapproval over Damon, but you have trouble with the thought of our disapproval of letting a strange man into the house?" Grunkle Stan grumbled.

"Stanley!" Ford scolded, hitting his brother behind the head. But there was amusement in his eyes, telling Dipper that his Great Uncle agreed with his twin.

Dipper rolled his eyes. Two years and a half since they've been at this. He was used to it, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Maybe one day they'll warm up to his boyfriend. They were forced to anyway, if Dipper was to ever marry-

He coughed into his fist, embarrassed by the sudden thought.

And speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

Dipper's phone buzzed in his pocket, and his mood immediately brightened. Damon always called him when he got the chance, just to tell Dipper how much he misses him or that he was thinking of him. Damon's words were almost always cliche, like his words came out of a romance novel, but Dipper didn't really care. It made butterflies appear in his stomach and made him blush three shades darker than his own nose.

"Excuse me," Dipper told his Grunkles distractedly, walking out of the room with his fingers fishing for his phone in his pocket. 

He found a lone corner in the living room, away from his Grunkles and any sign of people who might listen in to their conversation. "Hello?" he said into the phone casually.

"Hey," called out the husky voice from the other end.

Dipper smiled. "Hey yourself," he said again. Dipper leaned against the wall, his foot padding the carpet like a little kid. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, babe," Damon apologized, his voice filled with guilt. There was shuffling on the other end, one that sounded a lot like bed sheets. Dipper strained his ears, frowning to himself. Then there was that sound of a heart monitor, then the sound of doctors and nurses faintly in the background like it was through a wall. It didn't take a genius to guess where his boyfriend was.

"Damon, what happened?" Dipper asked in concern. Panic soon filled his voice. "Are you alright? Are you okay? What happened while you were out? Are you hurt, are you in pain, are you-?"

Damon laughed through the other end. "I'm fine, I'm fine," the mellow-y sweet voice drawled out. Dipper calmed down almost immediately at his leveled voice. "I mean, I have some...issues but I'll be home in an hour or so, or maybe even tomorrow, depending if-"

"Issues?" Dipper squeaked out. "What issues, Damon? Please don't tell me you got yourself into trouble, I swear to God I'll-"

"Sweetheart, please calm down," Damon soothed. "I'm fine, okay? The doc just needs to look after me for a little while longer, to see if there was any lingering damage, but-"

"Damon, what happened? Don't you dare try to-" Dipper snapped.

His boyfriend sighed from the other end of the phone. There was a moment of silence, of his boyfriend's heart monitor beeping in the background while bed sheets were rumpled in disturbance. 

"Well, for one, I have um, less fingers, I guess. Ha, I need to make a pun, one moment, Sweetheart- hmm..." Damon began. Dipper's eye twitched. "Oh, got it! Today, two of my fingers got severed but on the other hand, I'm fine! Ha, get i- aw shit, that isn't relevant. Both hands have one finger missing so-"

"Your...fingers?" Dipper asked in a hushed tone. He almost belched. Oh my God. 

"Well, yes," Damon told him, "but that's not all, I guess. I cut open my jugular vein."

Dipper felt his head rush. "Your- your _jugular vein_?" he asked, his voice one octave higher. That was impossible. Utterly impossible. Damon should be dead by now, bled to death by the vein. "Damon- you're lying. You're a fucking liar. That- that's not-"

"They saved me right on time before I bled to death," Damon told his boyfriend. "In fact, I lost like, thirty percent of my blood. I passed out more than eight times and puked up blood like crazy. And get this, the blood was black and mucky, and it was even _mushy_ so I-"

"Damon," Dipper whispered, feeling bile rise in his throat. One name, one word and his boyfriend already knew what he wanted. 

"Oh," was all Damon said. "Sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't think-"

Damon then sighed, and the other line filled with shuffling, the silk sheets being moved once again in the man's impatience for the doctor to come through and take a look at his condition. "But I really did cut open my jugular vein, babe. Two severed fingers to boot too, but that's about it. It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise."

"Damon, please," Dipper begged, "tell me how this happened. _Tell me._ "

"Okay, okay, if you insist," Damon said with a dramatic sigh. "But I don't think you'll believe me, babe."

"Look up at the ceiling. Do you see my fucks up there?"

"I blacked out after a burst of light came through my eyes in the middle of the night while I was out doing my three AM jogging, and I woke up in the hospital while I kind of uh, gurgled and choked on my own blood."

"That's complete bullshit and you know it, Damon."

"But it's the truth!" his boyfriend argued. "Maybe I passed out from exhaustion and some guy tried to mug me, I don't know. But all I remember is like, some guy speaking in Swedish or something and then I woke up in a hospital bed with eight doctors trying to get me awake."

Dipper shook his head, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to the hospital right now to pick you up. You stay right there, and I'll get you."

"No, Dipper, wait-"

"I'm getting you to talk about this and that's _final,_ Damon."

Damon chuckled at his boyfriend's stern voice. "You sound like my mom, Dipper," Damon informed him. "Always nagging and not listening to reason. I'm fine, I really am. I don't feel dizzy or anything. They just need to look over me one last time and I can use my car to get home."

"Why did you bring a car with you to the hospital if you got knocked out without being even remotely _close_ to the place?" Dipper asked in suspicion. 

"One of our employees took it in for me after hearing I was in the hospital since her mother worked there. She uh, tried to visit me but the doctors kept insisting I wasn't okay enough for visitors so she had to settle with telling the doctors to tell me my car was right outside," Damon automatically responded, sounding sheepish. "Idiots. Not even telling if I was okay or not, when I clearly am," he muttered under his breath.

Dipper let out a small laugh. "Fine. But I'm still coming over to try and visit before my work starts. I don't care if it takes me fifteen hours and three traffic rages to get there," Dipper told his boyfriend firmly. 

"Okay, whatever you say, babe. I'll see you when I can," Damon said merrily. "Then to celebrate getting home alive, we'll watch a movie with your Grunkles, hmm?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Dipper agreed. Then his eyes widen. "Wait, Damon, I need to tell you about-"

Then the line went dead and Dipper pulled his phone away from his ear with a growl under his breath. He stuffed it into his pocket roughly, pivoting around to walk outside and get into his car. 

He faintly remember having a yellow mustang in the garage of the house. Abandoned, but it worked like a charm. Damon sold it on the internet, buying a new ford mustang that was silver and sleek. It was for the both of them, but Damon insisted Dipper should have it in his possessions. 

Dipper walked out the door, grabbing his car keys and unlocking his car. He almost turned around to find his car if he didn't get knocked to the floor by an extremely heavy weight.

A tongue licked up his face, sticky and wet. Dipper tried to push the intruder off his chest, but it was to no avail. His intruder merely barked out happily, licking him more.

"Wha- hey!" Dipper cried out in protest, laughing when he realized that he was in fact, not being attacked by a rabid chinchilla and instead by a friendly dog.

Then someone whistled, and the dog barked once more and got off his chest. Dipper rubbed at his eye, looking up to see the commotion. 

Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan laughed at what happened to him, both Grunkles in the middle of walking into the Shack with luggage underneath their arms. "You didn't tell us he was getting here so soon, I would have forced one of the employees to get their asses early to work to clean up the attic," Stan laughed out gruffly, stepping over Dipper's fallen form to get inside the house. 

Ford did the same as Stan, telling Dipper that he better meet up with his friend and tell him about the house rules before walking inside the Shack. "Remember, no funny business!" he called out behind him.

Dipper huffed, shaking his head in confusion. If he were paying attention, he would have heard the commotion outside the Shack as someone turned up about living in the Shack thanks to the offer of Dipper Pines. He would have heard his Grunkles laughing, shaking hands with the new arrival at the man's funny wits and charming personality.

A hand was outstretched towards him, and Dipper looked up.

Will grinned down at him, a light in his captivating, strange cracked eyes, as if someone had taken a pin and ripped his blue cobalt eyes. But even with the cracks, Dipper saw his own reflection, a mirror of surprise.

"Charmed to see you again, Dipper Pines," drawled the handsome blond.


	10. Gamble With The Devil

_"Now time is moving, faster than before_  
_And now we cant even seem to find the shore_  
_Cause baby I know that you still love me_  
_And baby know that I love you too_  
_So tell me why cant we make it better_  
_Cause all that I know is found in you_  
_I'm missing your love, I'm missing your face,_  
_All of our past, don't let it erase_  
_I know that you still feel the way I do_  
_Because I'm still in love with you."_

**[Still in Love | Jason Chen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD67Op7O6OM) **

* * *

"FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS?!"

The demon lazily grinned at the boy's outburst, stuffing his hand inside a bag of chips and bringing them up to his mouth with a crunch. He sat crossed-legged on the one person sofa chair in front of the TV (the larger sofa right beside him), and kept his eyes glued to the TV.

He began playing with the remote of the simple box with moving pictures, flipping through sports, cartoons, dramas, all that jazz. He even tried his best to shut out Dipper's explosion, but even a deaf person can't ignore the boy's nagging. Dipper would just angrily sign language. He almost snorted at the thought. 

"William, that's too much!" Dipper argued, throwing the bounded cash onto Will's lap. 

With a flick of the wrist, Will threw it back at him without so much as a glance back at the brunet. "Too much, my ass," Will snorted, "it's for the bills, the food, and rent expenses too, kid."

"Will, I'm doing this for you," Dipper said in exasperation, throwing his arms up. His fingers were bound around the wad of cash Will gave him, but it looked as if the boy was going to throw it back at Will's face. Which, Will chuckled, was probably true, given the glare that was being tossed at him. "And can you _please_ stop calling me 'kid'? I know for a fact that you can't be any more than five years older than me."

The corner of Will's lips twitched, and he almost blurted out, _well, sucks for you, I'm over a trillion years old, so ha!_ But then again, his mortal body was physically in its early-twenties. So he had no room to argue. "Just take the goddamn money before I change my mind."

" _Please_ change your mind."

"Alright," Will shrugged. "Twenty hundred dollars for you then."

Dipper face-palmed, dragging his hand over his face slowly and sluggishly. He groaned, looking tired and completely done with William's bullshit. "There's a reason why I'm letting you stay here, Will, and that's because you saved me," Dipper gritted out, "How am I supposed to give something back to you if you keep giving things to _me_?"

"Easy, you take my gifts and move on with your life," Will told him. "Besides, you need the money, don't you? Damon's in the hospital, as far as I heard." He kept flipping through the channels boredly as Dipper paced in front of the TV, much to his slight irritation. Can't a demon watch in peace?

"Damon's expenses are taken care of," Dipper said indignantly. "You don't understand, Will- my family is okay with our money. Damon's family was already too nice to give us way more than enough to keep us from going insane, and the Shack is well, the Shack. My job and Ford's auctions of his old gadgets helped too, and- god damn it, Will, we don't need it or even want it! You need more than we do!"

Will didn't even flinch at Dipper's short lecture, finally settling onto a show called Hell's Kitchen with this head chef guy who insulted anyone who didn't meet his expectations. He grinned lazily each time the Gordon guy spoke, basically blocking out Dipper's words. 

"Dipper, just take the stupid green papers," Will said boredly. "It doesn't matter if I have it or not because I won't be able to spend it anyway. As soon as I find my way back to Germany, then I'll be right on track and maybe then you can pay me back. But for now, just keep the stupid money."

"And when are you going back to Germany, Will? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month? Next year?" Dipper snapped. _"Never?"_

"I don't know," Will admitted. His tone was still bored and deprived of any emotion he would allow Dipper to detect. He seriously wished that Mabel was here to help him out with arguing with her brother. But sadly, the girl was still stuck in her little fantasy paradise, still recovering from going to many different mindscapes. In fact, even Will was still having his toll on that expedition. His muscles ached, his head lurched if he moved too quickly, and he had migraines worst than hangovers in the morning. He didn't know when it would stop, but he could pretty much guess that it won't be for a long while. 

As Will shifted in his seat to find a much more comfortable position on the small sofa chair (which thankfully did not smell like Dipper's Grunkle Stan), Dipper kept pacing like a caged animal in front of him, blocking most of his view of the TV. "Hey, get out of the way, will ya, kid? I'm watching this guy insult these stupid chefs. Like c'mon, who puts four eggs in _cookies?_ Disgusting," Will said with a wrinkle of his nose. 

With a defeated sigh, Dipper stopped in front of a small desk, slamming the wad of cash on top of it. He turned around, facing Bill with a small glare in his eye. "All your luggage are in the attic. You'll be staying there to sleep and keep your belongings," Dipper told him bluntly. "As long as you stay away from my room and my Grunkles' and give us privacy, you'll be fine doing whatever you like here. If you don't mind, please fill the bowl under the kitchen table with cat food and water- Chip somehow finishes it in three seconds and never gets fat. There are board games and recreational stuff in the closet. My emergency number is sticky-noted to the fridge."

"So I get the attic? Sweet!" Will grinned. He brought his legs up to the small one-person couch and crossed them, putting his hands inside his lap like a little kid. He even inclined his head slightly to the side. The only missing thing left to his appearance was a pout. "Where's Damon's room?"

Dipper gave him a weird look. "Why do you need to know?"

"Because."

Dipper raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Because what?"

"Because," Will sang out. 

The brunet rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh, massaging the spot in between his eyes. Will watched him innocently, waiting for the boy's answer. Honestly, he just wanted to know so he could somehow trash the place and blame it on someone else. In fact, he could go to the store right now to buy some paint and girly posters to stick it-

"Damon sleeps in the same room as I do," Dipper finally answered in defeat. "Same bed, same closet, the works. Don't uh, come into that room- or, any room with someone in there, without knocking. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Will chirped out. He said it like he was happy with it. No, of course he wasn't. His stomach churned with envy and anger, twisting his insides and jump-starting his magic underneath his skin. Even the thought of Dipper kissing Damon, of Dipper cuddling closer and closer to the boy, Dipper running his hands through someone else's hair, Dipper having _sex_ with someone who-

"Will? You alright there?"

Will's eyes snapped up from the floor, looking up at the frowning brunet with a sheepish grin. "Heh, sorry. I was just...thinking." Well, it certainly wasn't a lie.

"About what? Your family?" Dipper asked, glancing at the TV screen. It was still going, but it was clear that both boys in the room had lost interest in it. Will took up the TV remote and turned it off out of respect.

"Nah," Will said with a shake of his head. "Some other things you-" _won't understand,_ "-probably won't care about."

"Well, if it's bothering you, then of course I care!" Dipper exclaimed in surprise, blinking down at Will as if he was a complete idiot for thinking that Dipper wouldn't care about him. Will's chest filled with the same warmth he hadn't felt in two years, opening his mouth to respond.

"You're my guest, Will. Tell me what's wrong and I'll try to make you comfortable here." 

Oh.

Will swallowed back the response in his throat, giving Dipper his warmest smile. "No, your home is already perfect for me, Dipper," Will told the brunet. "I know I forgot to say it, so I'll say it now before I forget so- thank you."

"You saved me," Dipper half-shrugged. "It was the least I can do, you know?"

Will's lips tightened together, and he looked away from the gazing boy. He was afraid that if he stared too long, his magic would flare up again. He grimaced to himself. Yes, the magic was a bonus and something he should be thankful for. But everything had their pros and cons, and magic was no different for a demon trapped in a human vessel. Strong emotions, especially envy and love, would cause magic to go haywire. Whether that would be exploding something, a simple tingle in a palm, or changing a lamp into a monkey.

Other times, it could cause death. 

Will suddenly had the thought of watching Damon turn red, bloating and choking, before his head exploded into chunks of red meat, splattering against the walls and sliding off of them like jelly. No, that would be too quick- Damon should suffer. He grinned.

Before any of them could speak to make the situation better, a cat meowed from the kitchen door, and both heads turned to look. Chip the cat made his way into the living room with muddy paws, his little locket Bill Cipher had given to him with his name on it swinging from left to right around his collar. Locked in his jaw was a dead rat, limp and useless.

Dipper cursed underneath his breath, shaking his head as Chip walked over to Bill, dropping the dead rat at his feet and looking up at the demon with wide eyes. He meowed, tilting his head to the side as if in question. 

"William, I'm sorry, Chip usually doesn't do this. He'd hiss at me and at everyone in the house but he'd never-" Dipper apologized.

Will lifted up a hand to stop him, uncrossing his legs and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He reached out with a hand, and Dipper watched him in curiosity. Chip meowed happily, a little purring noise that made the demon genuinely smile. The cat took the rat back into his mouth, planting it right on Will's palm. 

The demon's fingers closed around the dead animal, faintly hearing Dipper call out his name in slight disgust and question. He brought the animal carcass to his face, turning the gray rat around his fingers and looking at it in all angles. The rat's tail was broken off, its eyes open and wide with fright. Dry blood covered the inside of the dirty fur, showing bite marks around the mid-section of the rat. The small rodent was cold, but warm enough to know that it was killed just a few moments ago. 

"Thanks, Chip," Will beamed, bringing the body back down to the ground in front of the cat. Chip stepped backward, looking down at the dead carcass in question. "I'm not hungry right now. You can have it. You earned it, buddy."

Chip looked back up at Will, before meowing ecstatically and clamping his jaw right around the rodent once more, bouncing away into the kitchen. Will watched the cat stride away, waving goodbye. The cat was more healthy than when he first saw him, and he was glad. Chip no longer looked like an alley cat, but more like a healthy, loving family pet. He grinned. 

He heard someone cough, swiveling his head to look at the man who was having an itchy throat. It turned out to be none other than Dipper Pines, who looked back at Will with a weird look on his face as he crossed his arms in front of him. The boy looked like a disciplining father, about to ground their child for sneaking out at night. Will almost snorted, but managed to keep a straight face for the sake of keeping himself in check.

"What was that about?" Dipper asked, almost embarrassingly. 

"Your cat thought I was hungry," he chuckled. "If a cat cared about someone, they tend to do that. Doesn't he do that to you too sometimes?"

Hesitantly, Dipper shook his head. "As far as I know, not really," Dipper answered. "Chip likes to...keep to himself. He'd disappear for hours on end and would only come back for food. My family got used to him doing that. Go out, eat food, and then sleep. It's a repeating cycle."

Will raised an eyebrow. "You let him out without knowing where he is?" He didn't mean to sound accusingly, but his tone must have alerted Dipper into thinking that Will thought he was a bad owner. 

"Wha-?" No, no! I- most times we know where he is- just down by the back alley on most days. I just- we trust Chip and he already knows his way around town so we never worry and-" Dipper babbled.

"I didn't mean it like that," Will said bluntly. "I- nevermind." He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. He leaned back against the sofa, tipping his head back to look up at the rickety ceiling. He folded his hands behind his head, bringing his ankle to his knee.

"So how's your _Liebhaber_?" Will inquired, doing his best to keep the bitterness out of his tone. 

"My-? Oh," Dipper mumbled, scratching his cheek in slight embarrassment. Will remembered hearing that Dipper had tried to learn German. He quirked his lips to the side. "He's fine, as far as I know. My Great Uncle Ford went to the hospital to see if they could get him checked out of there." He coughed into a fist, shifting his weight uneasily. 

Will watched him out of the corner of his eye, pretending to look up at the ceiling in disinterest, when really, all his interest was on the shy brunet. "I know it's a stupid thing to worry about but-" Dipper sighed, looking up at the ceiling with Will. His Adam's apple bobbed. "I feel like I'm going to...lose him, you know? I- I know it's stupid, everyone tells me it's stupid but I-" Dipper's cheeks turned red, and he uncrossed his arms to jam his hands into his hoodie pockets. 

"Christ, I'm- I'm sorry, Will, I don't know why that just came out, I-" Dipper blabbered, his face steadily turning red. He buried his face in his hands, standing there and looking completely out of place. Will, tilted his head away from the ceiling, looking over at Dipper with a slightly concerned look. He leaned forward.

Dipper, silently, walked over to the long couch beside the small one that Will was occupying. When Will didn't respond to his stuttering words, Dipper continued on. "I don't know why, Will, I seriously don't know but- you- you kind of remind me of someone I trusted before. I know that sounds really weird but- something about you just makes my mind scream at me to just- _trust you,_ you know? Ugh, this is getting really really weird but- I'm so sorry I-"

Will chuckled softly. "It's alright," Will assured him, "I trust you too. Perhaps it was destiny that we had to meet, am I right?" He waggled his eyebrows for effect, saying the last part as a joke for Dipper's sake. 

"Oh, now you're just playing with me," Dipper huffed with a roll of his eyes. His shoulders relaxed, his cheeks coming back to its natural color. Will smiled at him.

"Say, Pine-" Will bit his tongue, _hard._ He could taste the metallic blood on his own tongue. "Dipper. How come you acted so different when I met you?"

"What do you mean?" Dipper's brow furrowed in confusion. 

"I mean-" Will thought about this for a while, trying to find the perfect words before responding. "You were...different. Right now you're acting like your ol- like your Grunkles- being all sassy and shit, but then back in that stupid mall you were just...different."

Dipper gave him a weird look. "You were a stranger," Dipper told him, slowly as if he was speaking to a toddler. "People change when they get closer to other people. You changed too, you know."

"How so?" questioned the demon in slight amusement.

"You weren't a pain in the ass before, and now you are."

"Hmm," Will hummed. "If you told me it hurt, I would've gone in slower."

"Wha-?" Dipper's face turned from confusion to embarrassment. His ears flamed a fire truck red, his neck going deeper into his shoulders shyly. He looked absolutely bashful, his mouth opening and closing like he was trying to work up the courage to speak. Little squeaks came out of his mouth.

William laughed at him, watching him try to speak without any luck. Will's eyes traveled down Dipper's face to his cute little nose that turned redder as he tried to speak, to his lips that he still remembered like the back of his hand- no, he couldn't remember the back of his hand because it was constantly changing. He remembered how Dipper's lips felt against his like how he remembered how hard it felt leaving him alone. 

Will's amusement got caught in his own throat, constricting him and making it harder for him to breathe. It felt as if ice cubes were dropped underneath his shirt, dragging him down, down, down. What would happen if he just kissed Dipper, right now? He could end this bullshit. He could see if it would jump start Dipper or something and they could be together again. They could be happy! They could-!

"What's going on in here?" asked a bleary tired voice. 

Dipper's Grunkle Stan came into the room in shorts, a tank top, and sandals, looking at home with his tired face and cup of coffee. It was currently seven in the morning, just a few hours after he got up at five, but the man seemed to be tired to the bones. Will couldn't blame him. 

"Your great nephew here got his panties in a twist," Will teased, pointing at the red-faced Dipper.

Dipper tried to argue, but his voice failed him once again. Only tiny squeaks of protest came out of the brunet, sounding much like a rat trying to worm his way out. It made Will guffaw in laughter, causing the old man standing in the doorway to laugh as well.

Stanley put his coffee cup on a desk, walking over to the long couch to sit by Dipper. He put his arm around Dipper's shoulders, shaking him. "What did he do this time, try to out-sass you and it backfired?" Stan laughed in that gravelly voice of his. Dipper seemed to shrink beside his Grunkle. 

"Sort of," William chuckled. "We were just making small talk. I think I broke your great nephew though."

"Nah, that's okay. He's been broken for a very long time," Stanley teased, punching Dipper's shoulder and moving his arm away from the boy. Will knew that Stanley was saying to be funny, to make fun of the situation as best as he could, but he knew that there was truth to the man's voice, even if the man tried to hide it as best as he could. The short glance of concern, the knitted brow, the turned down lips and flash of pain- Will's eyes flickered over to Dipper.

Dipper, finally done with his short mental breakdown of being stood up by someone like Will, shook his head and glowered at Will. The blond put his hands up over to his chest in surrender, grinning sheepishly with a twinkle in his eyes that said, _I'm not taking my words back._

"So anyway," Grunkle Stan began, lifting one brow of his and punching his nephew's shoulder once more. "I'm old, I'm going deaf and blind and it'll be a matter of time until I shrivel up and die but- that's not for a long while, am I right? I heard you guys talking about money in here before I could get my third cup of coffee of the morning."

"Grunkle Stan, didn't the doctors _just_ tell you to lay off of the caffeine for a while?" Dipper said in exasperation. 

"Eh, do I look like I give a fuck, kid?" Grunkle Stan scoffed. "Anyway, what's your guys' deals anyway?"

"No deals," Will assured him with a shrug. "We settled it. Your little legacy here won't accept five thousand dollars from yours truly." He sang out the last part. 

"What? Dipper!" Grunkle Stan scolded, sitting up from his comfortable spot beside his great nephew to put his hands on his hips and look at Dipper with a disapproving look. "Five thousand dollars?! You kidding me, kid?"

"Grunkle Stan, we literally have enough money to last us five lifetimes, I'm sure we can reject that kind of money from someone who needs it mo-" Dipper rolled his eyes. 

"Yeesh Dipper, have I taught you nothing?" Grunkle Stan clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment. William watched in amusement, knowing he had no part of this argument for once. "If you can get money, you _take_ the goddamn money! I need to sit you down with one of my old VHS tapes from the eighties, my God."

"Grunkle Stan-" Dipper sighed. 

"And then you still refuse when the other insists," Grunkle Stan said with disappointment. "Kid, you're worst than I thought you are. You're worst than Satan himself."

"GRUNKLE STAN!" Dipper yelled. 

"What?"

"I accepted the money!" Dipper groaned. "I don't want it but the idiot here keeps trying to give it to me so I had no choice."

"Ha-ha! I knew you could do it!" Grunkle Stan whooped, throwing his hands up in the air. "This calls for celebration, Dipper. What do you want for dinner? Ice cream cake or just rocky road ice cream?"

"Rocky road," Dipper answered distractedly, "but Grunkle Stan, I-"

"Hmm, I could go for some strawberry short cakes though," Grunkle Stan thought, rubbing his chin as he looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Yeah, strawberry sounds nice."

"Grunkle Stan-" Dipper warned.

"No, maybe blueberries. Poindexter loves those."

"Grunkle Stanley-"

"Eh, whatever. I'll just get both. So, what do you guys wa-?"

"GRUNKLE STANLEY!" Dipper's face was red in irritation. 

"What now?"

"I won't accept the money," Dipper said slowly, lifting up a hand to stop Will and Stan to speak out their arguments, "unless I do something back for Will."

"You're already letting me live and eat here!" Will argued. "You've already given me enough, Dipper, I don't need-"

"Hey, you haven't been around Gravity Falls much, have you?" Grunkle Stan cut off, turning his head to face Will. Will was suddenly struck with how old the man looked. Wrinkles, a small frown even when he was happy, crinkles in the corners of his eyes. Something dropped in his stomach. There was an aura around the man, an aura he would have recognized if he was still in power. It was at the tip of his tongue, just barely there, but the feeling of coldness was evident. Stanley Pines was-

"I haven't seen you before, so you probably haven't. Huh. This place is nice if you get to know it, trust me," Grunkle Stan began, craning his neck to look at Dipper next. "Be his guide, if you're up for it. Like a tourist guide, I mean. You know this place better than I do, and I've lived here for over thirty years." _Perfect._

Dipper frowned, glancing at Will. "Well, I mean, I don't think Will is that type of person to tour guide around the place like-"

"That would be wonderful!" Will grinned. "I've heard a lot about this small sleepy town, believe it or not. It's why I came here in the first place. Touring the place to see what it's like would be great!"

Grunkle Stan smirked at his great nephew with an _I told you so_ look. "See? Problem solved. Dipper, you tour William around Gravity Falls until he gets physically sick of the place. William, try not to fall asleep to Dipper's boring monotone voice. He's famous for it when he substitutes teachers." 

"Hey!" Dipper argued. 

"True," Will chirped.

Dipper huffed, look irritated with the whole situation. "Grunkle Stan, _I have work._ I can't just drop out of school hours to-"

"Then you do it _after_ school hours, sheesh," Stanley said with a roll of his eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be as smart as Poindexter, kid."

Will and Dipper looked at each other. Will raised an eyebrow at him in a _well?_ look. Dipper stared at him for a moment, contemplating the decision in his head and what the worst thing could happen would be. 

Deciding that the worst thing would probably be Will dying (which William had a feeling Dipper would be glad about), Dipper grumbled under his breath, letting out an incoherent agreement. 

Will's eyes flickered over to Stanley Pines. "Well? I guess we got the deal all sealed!" Will said in slight excitement. "So, what would be the first thing we do, huh? We got time, don't we? How about we go up to that mountain I saw on my way here and-?"

A little beep went off, making Dipper jump. The brunet quickly looked at his wristwatch, peering at the time. His face blanched, and he looked up at Will in apology. "I'm really sorry, Will, but my class is about to start in about twenty minutes and I haven't even gotten there. I have to go."

"Oh," Will said. His tone sounded disappointed. He managed to cover it up by saying, "Well, we don't want those little kids to fail and ruin their lives by doing drugs, now do we? Go and get 'em."

Dipper smiled softly at him, a smile in thanks. Even thought it was a little turn of the lips that Dipper probably handed out to hundreds of people already, be it the kind guy who left open his door or the student who helped him clean up his coffee, William couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. 

It was a reminder of the sole reason he was here. A reminder that he was still completely and hopelessly in love with a boy who can't love him back. Who _won't_ love him back.

"I'll see you later," Dipper said distractedly, getting up from his seat. He fist-bumped with his Grunkle Stan (which Will found a little amusing), and shouted down the kitchen that he was leaving to Wendy Corduroy who was taking a coffee break before she began working and watching over the newbies. He took his car keys off the hook, took some paper that was all messily-written, and was out the door.

"Well, I'll see you around too, William," Stanley grunted, getting off the couch with a little bit of difficulty. "Don't get yourself into any trouble. I don't think I'd have the energy to stop you." He let out a little laugh, then was out the room as well.

Will sighed, running a hand through his hair as he flopped against the sofa tiredly. He was planning to spend time with Dipper all day, forgetting that the boy had a job and had to be out of the house for half the time he was there. Great. What was he supposed to do now?

As if on cue, his stomach growled, empty of any food or drink. His mouth dried up and he licked his lips, patting his stomach. Right. Humans ate food and stayed hydrated. How the hell did he keep forgetting that?

With a small grunt, Will got up from the sofa, stretching his back and putting his arms over his head. He yawned, walking into the kitchen while he scratched an itch on his lower back. 

Wendy wasn't in the kitchen when he came in, or anyone for that matter. It was quiet in the room, and it was a little unnerving for some reason. He looked around, wondering if he should get something from the kitchen or from the fridge. 

He shook off the feeling of nervousness, walking over to the large fridge and swinging it open. He bent down, rummaging through the milk and eggs to look for something he could eat quickly without having to burn down the house in frustration. 

Will picked up some yogurt from behind the fridge, standing back up and closing the door with his heel as he turned around to find a spoon in the cupboard. He looked down at the small plastic cup he took, reading the label to make sure it wasn't expired.

His cup of yogurt dropped to the floor with a small splat as William was pushed against the wall beside the fridge, his head knocking against the cold wall. He groaned, arm shooting out to hold onto the back of his head in pain. 

 _"Why did you come back?"_ snarled a familiar voice. Though, the last he heard the voice, it was kind and shy, almost too shy to even say such things to Bill Cipher back then. 

Will forced his eyes to open after the nausea disappeared, suddenly aware of the choke hold he was in. His hands clamped around those arms, trying to pry them off as he glared at his attacker in irritation than anything else. Seriously, all he wanted was a goddamn yogurt!

He stared back into angry eyes, the man's lips curled back in disgust and anger. His short black quiff was hidden by a 1950's greaser hat, which Will would have scoffed at if he wasn't being choked at the moment. Hell, even the greaser hat was battered and worn out by some holes. Where was this guy's fashion sense? 

"What do you want, Damon?" Will asked boredly. His voice was strained by the cut of oxygen, though he tried to keep it as steady as he could. He knew how to handle fear, and he was damn good at it. 

"Why. Are. You. Here?" Damon gritted out, repeating his words from before. There was a large square gauze on his neck where his jugular vein was, seeping some dark red blood already. Will almost pointed that out to the boy, if it weren't for the fact that his attacker was choking him harder when he kept silent. 

"I'm- here because-" Will strained out, gritting his teeth and determined to get the words out, "-your boyfriend- let me...stay here, you idiot."

Damon suddenly let go of his throat, allowing him enough room to breathe before he took hold of Will's collar and kept him there so he couldn't move even if he tried. Not that he would even try. Will was amused by this.

"You're back," Damon snapped out, "you're back here to hurt him again, aren't you?"

When Will didn't reply, Damon smacked him across the jaw, causing pain to blossom on his lower cheek and chin. _"Aren't you?!"_

"Who said I was ever here to hurt him?!" Will snapped, his eyes becoming hard as he pushed back his attacker with all the force he had. But Damon stayed firm, and Will clenched his fists and grabbed the wrists around his collar. He didn't move his hands, keeping his fingers closed around those wrists just so that when they were finished with this, Will could throw him off. He wondered if he should give Damon a black eye or bruised ribs.

"I knew you were going to come back, _I fucking knew it!_ " Damon snarled. "I thought you left out of his life when you almost killed him two years ago, but I guess devils don't really disappear, now do they?"

"Now, how could you possible know I-" Will snorted. 

Damon let go of his collar with one hand, reaching into his pocket and shoving something square and leathery onto Will's chest. He let go of Will, stepping back to let him see what he gave him.

Will's fingers clenched around a familiar leather, and opened a wallet. His wallet- the one with Dipper's picture in it.

"Did he find this?" Will murmured. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the wallet. 

"No," Damon whispered. "And if he did, you're going to have to explain that you were the one who almost made him kill himself and made him depressed for _months._ " Damon shook his head in disgust. "The only reason why I didn't show him that wallet was because I care about him and a shithead like you isn't worth my time or his. Or anyone's."

"How did you find this?" Will demanded. His head lifted, sticking his wallet in his back pocket and he stared at Damon in challenge. "How?"

"He came home with a yellow hoodie over one arm and told me to do whatever I want with it because some guy left it with him. As a boyfriend, you'd get pretty suspicious with those kinds of things," Damon scoffed. He crossed his arms over his chest, not backing away from Will's burning stare. "I saw the wallet in one of the pockets and when I saw Dipper's picture I kind of just knew it was you. And I was goddamn right that you would come back one day to try and break him after he was fixed."

"I'm here because I got stranded and everyone out-rules you on the decision of letting me stay here," Will snapped, "I saved your goddamn boyfriend. Aren't you even a _little_ thankful?"

Will's head snapped back as Damon came forward and socked him across the jaw, his head almost cracking against the wall. He accidentally chomped down on his bottom lip in the process, causing blood to fill his mouth. But even with the white-blinding pain that literally caused him to see nothing but white, Will didn't scream. Or hit back.

He merely rubbed his sore jaw, scowling at Damon. "I deserved that," was all he said. 

"You deserve more than that, _Bill,_ " Damon spat. William flinched. _Flinched._ He was pathetic, and they both knew it.

Damon walked forward, grabbing onto his collar once more. He didn't push Will against the wall this time, just glared at him with the threats already burning in his eyes. "I don't want you close to my boyfriend alone," Damon snarled, "do not try and make a move, even light flirting with him, because I swear to everything that is holy, Bill, I will find out and I will torture you far worst than your little masochist mind can handle."

William didn't retort. He wanted to, so badly. But he knew he would make the situation worst and allowed Damon to continue with his little rant. 

"He was hurt once," Damon spat, "by you and only _you._ I can't- I can't bare to see him hurt again."

Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes and to speak. He sounded so goddamn cheesy, like he was speaking lines from a movie that was long forgotten. But Will felt like he would honestly say the same if he was in Damon's situation (with more...creative and disturbing threats of course). He kept his mouth closed because of it. 

"If I found out you made a move on him, Bill, I'm going to-" Damon growled. 

Will pushed him away with a glowering scowl, his lips turned in disgust. Absolutely disgusted at Damon's words, and Damon could basically feel it off of him. Will shook his head, looking revolted. He turned away from the raven-haired boy, already having enough of the conversation. 

"Are you kidding me? As if I'd get together with _him._ "  


	11. Everything Burned In Blue

_"A million shards of glass_  
_That haunt me from my past_  
_As the stars begin to gather_  
_And the light begins to fade_  
_When all hope begins to shatter_  
_Know that I won't be afraid_  
_If I risk it all_  
_Could you break my fall?_  
_How do I live? How do I breathe?_  
_When you're not here I'm suffocating_  
_I want to feel love, run through my blood_  
_Tell me is this where I give it all up?_  
_For you I have to risk it all_  
_Cause the writing's on the wall."_

**[Writing's On The Wall | Sam Smith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jzDnsjYv9A) **

* * *

William hammered down once more, causing the wood to vibrate and jump back from his force. 

"Not so hard, William!" called Ford from the other side of the yard.

Will looked up, lowering his hammer and giving his sheepish smile. "Sorry," he apologized with a small chuckle. "Didn't think the wood was so fragile."

Ford smiled back at him weakly, the corners of his eyes crinkling from age. He took off his glasses, wiping them off on his dirty shirt, dirtying them further. Beside him, Dipper read the blueprints close to his face, squinting at it with his brow furrowed close together in concentration. His eye sped through the words and numbers, calculating them and triple-checking that they were right and accurate. 

"It's alright, William," Ford assured him. "We got many parts to spare."

Will grunted under his breath, moping his sweaty brow with the back of his hand, stretching his back as he looked down at his work. He was currently nailing pieces of wood together for a hatch Ford needed in his blueprints. He grimaced when he realized that the piece of wood he tried to nail down beforehand was cracked down the middle, destroyed by his strong beating. 

He leaned down, ripping the broken piece off with his bare hands. The nail didn't dug too deep anyway, allowing him to just take it off like cotton. He tossed it to the side, annoyed by his failure. "Do any of you have wooden planks I could maybe replace?" Will asked in distaste.

Without looking up from the large blueprint that covered his face, Dipper leaned sideways and grabbed a large plank, tossing it in front of Will. The plank clattered on the grass, settling right in front of Will's knelt knees. He took it, sticking his tongue out in concentration so he could nail it back. 

"I can't thank you enough for helping me out today," Ford said with relief in his voice. He mopped his slick forehead with a handkerchief, standing up and stretching his own old back as he stood over Dipper's squat form. His great nephew was still reading the blueprint, sitting down on a crate with a toolbox opened in front of him by his ankles. 

"No problem, Grunkle Ford," Dipper replied with slight pride in his voice. 

"I was talking to William, Dipper." Ford chuckled to himself, stepping away from Dipper's crate to pick up a wrench from the ground. "You're always forced to help your old uncle anyway."

Will laughed underneath his breath, laughing at the cute little face Dipper made as he lowered his blueprint to look at his Grunkle. "Well, you're welcome either way," Will assured Ford, spinning the hammer around his hand. Dipper scowled at him briefly, going back to staring at his blueprint intently. He raised his arm in the air, hammering it down on the wood- but making sure he did it just a tad bit softer this time. 

To his satisfaction, the wood didn't break in half, instead staying put by the nail he hammered in. Will smirked to himself, setting the tool down to the grass. "Is this how big you wanted the hatch, Ford?" Will questioned, raising his head up to the man currently wrenching a screw in.

Out behind the Mystery Shack stood a fifteen foot machine in the shape of a black cylinder. There was a window at the front, and it was stuck on a hinge, allowing people to open and close the window as they please. Inside was just a bunch of wires, still unfinished. 

"Remind me why we're building a monster tracker outside the Shack?" Will asked. 

"There's no uh, room inside the Shack, unfortunately," Ford responded, rubbing his chin as he looked at the screw he tightened. He put the wrench back, loosening the screw just a bit. "And besides William, folks here in Gravity Falls are used to my shenanigans by now. I'm betting they think I'm making some sort of ice cream dispenser."

"Ah," Will nodded. 

"Screw two inches to the right," Dipper called out in a monotone to his Grunkle. Ford nodded, kneeling down and taking another identical screw from a different toolbox to where he was. He pushed it in the hole perfect for the screw, screwing it inside snugly. 

William watched with a blink, bored now that his task was finished. They were to put the hatch above the cylinder tomorrow, when the sun was at its peak. It was to be used as an emergency exit, in case something went wrong and the person inside needed to get out. The cylinder was transportable too, and Fordsy was planning to find a way to make the machine compatible into a small suitcase, just so they could bring it wherever they please. Will could tell that this was easily the hardest task Ford had to create. 

Not only was it a complicated machine with much more complicated uses, but Ford's mind and abilities were ah...limited, nowadays. The poor man couldn't even hold up a window for more than two seconds before he was slick with sweat. 

William looked up at the sky. The sun was about to set, the yellow orb just peeking out over the mountains, shading the pine trees and land with shadows. It made the sleepy town look a little scary, letting one to believe that there were monsters lurking in every corner, in every nook and cranny and were waiting for the sun to drop. And as far as William knew about Gravity Falls, there probably was. 

"I'm sorry to offend you Ford, but don't you think this is a little pointless?" Will called out, dropping his head ."There hasn't been a monster spotting in over twelve years. Building a machine to find them is like making a gigantic fish net to find the Gobblewonker."

Dipper and Ford glanced over at him with twin looks of surprise. Realizing the fault in his words, Will quickly said, "I read the tour guidelines for this town. Very interesting, I must say."

Dipper shook his head, lifting the paper back up to his face once more. Ford gave him a patient look, still screwing in the other screws carefully and efficiently. "That is because the monsters are bidding their time for a prophecy-like telling, William," Ford told him slowly. "There are instructions deep inside a cave here in Gravity Falls that show how to make a gate to all dimensions. While I believe that it is nonsense, the greediest of all people and monsters want to find this. In fact,  one of the instructions was to sacrifice souls."

"Sacrifice souls?" Will snorted. He looked down at the hatch he made, propping it up and inspecting any splinters or cracks. There was a huge hole to the right, but that was because it was needed to make a door knob latch. He put his arm through it childishly. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. No offense."

"Ah, it may sound ridiculous, but it's very much true, William," Ford said patiently. He arched his back, cracking it from age. He grimaced, shaking his head and kneeling down to do the screws below the ones he did to secure the metal plates together. "Hundreds of people have gone missing over the years- possible even thousands. No one knows where they go, but everyone suspects that their bodies lay in the cave of Gravity Falls. But, no one is dumb enough to enter. Everyone who enters, never leaves."

Despite himself and knowing what the inside of that cave already contained, Will shivered. The hundreds of women strewn around the cave like rag dolls, all because demons and psychopaths had the sneaking suspicion of what the broken star was. Now that they all got the news that the first symbol was sacrificed, each murderer moved on to a different sign. He was willing to bet that there were thousands of dead carcasses in the cave already, piled high and abandoned. A blood bath. 

While Bill would have been excited to see such gruesome things- chopped limbs and heads, the smell of urine and putrid rotting flesh, filleted skin, punctured holes like hives, and oozing black blood- Will was not. 

"If this threat is so bad, why don't all of you evacuate the town?" Will asked in curiosity. It was a question that was nagging the back of his mind ever since he left the town. While the threats of missing people rested mainly in Oregon (particularly Gravity Falls), the whole world was in shambles. News, headlines, radios kept him updated almost every single day of a new missing person. The world was not panicking, not just yet, but the panic was starting to rise.

No one has seen a missing person come home. Or has seen their body.

"It'll take too much time," Ford sighed, hiking his glasses further up his nose. He inspected the loose screw, flicking it once to check. "And everyone thinks it's nothing. They all think that the missing people left on their own accord." He shook his head, looking extremely distressed by his own words. "It's awful and no one is doing anything about it," Ford added, his tone irritated and angry. 

"And that's why you're doing this? Because you want to help?" Will wrinkled his nose when his elbow got stuck through the hole. 

"Of course," Ford answered, pride swelling in his voice. "It's my biggest project yet, and it'll take time, but it's going to be completely worth it." 

"Couldn't you just make a tinier tracker?" Will deadpanned, still trying to get his elbow out of the hole. "Instead of making that huge cylinder thingy? I don't see the point of making it so big."

"It's a portable research center that we can put back in our ba- our office after it's finished. The bigger, the better, because monsters can be tracked in a bigger range," Dipper said boredly, not once taking his eyes off the blueprints. 

"And if someone tries to vandalize this at night out here?" Will challenged. He didn't even know why he was acting so negative about Ford building this machine. In fact, it was wonderful! At least, it would help prevent more accidents, just like Mabel's...

A lump collected in his throat. He cleared it, swallowing the bile that came up. He could feel his hands shaking. From anger or guilt, he didn't know. It could easily be both. 

"Security," Ford said proudly. He wrenched in the last screw at the very bottom of the cylinder. He hit the metal with the flat of his palm, letting it clang in satisfaction. The old man curved an eyebrow, fascinated by the structure of his own machine. 

He stood up from his kneel, coming around the front to check the body-sized window shield. It was built to look like a refrigerator from a store, letting anyone look inside fully like excited kids. Though, the inside wasn't much to look at, as it was just wires and hanging strings with one lone chair in the middle of the metal flooring. The circumference of the cylinder allowed at least four people to fit snugly inside. 

Will had to admit, Fordsy's blueprints and ideas were sharp and accurate, with no flaws and strings attached. One person was to sit on that lone chair, watching a flat graph on a desk as it mapped out any demonic magic or monster-like activity. How Ford explained it was so complex and accurate, it made Will nervous. It wasn't possible that it could map out _his_ magic, right? Right?

Before Will could open his dumb human mouth to say something, a furry body brushed up against his hips. He looked down, mildly surprised. His elbow slipped out from the hole. 

Dip, his dog, barked at him, but the bark was stuffed by the thing in her mouth. A dead bird, bleeding dark blood to the ground beside them. 

Before Will could praise the dog and tell her to drop it, Dip sprinted away, running over to the crate where Dipper sat. The dog barked, headbutting the crate and rattling it from her strength. Will cringed. 

Surprised by the sudden interruption, Dipper put down his blueprint, looking down with raised eyebrows. "Wha-?"

His feet shot up from the ground, curling themselves on the crate as Dipper let out a throat yelp. His eyes widened, the blueprint abandoned by his side on the crate. "Is- is that a dead bird?!" he screamed.

Will laughed at his panic, Ford swiveling his head around to find out what the ruckus was all about. And when he found out it was just his nephew being frightened by a murderous dog, he barked out a laugh. Dip, the dog, oblivious to Dipper's discomfort, nudged her little nose against the crate, barking softy and trying to tell Dipper to take the bird out of her mouth. 

"Dude, what the hell is your dog doing?!" Dipper hissed. "I- I thought only fucking cats did that!"

"My dog is a weird one," Will laughed. "She just wants to give you a present, that's all. Take it, and she'll leave. Trust me. Don't take it too personally."

"Call her off! What the hell am I supposed to do with a _dead bird?!_ " Dipper yelped, trying to scoot away as much as he can without falling off the crate. 

"Just take it," Will said with a roll of his eyes. "She'll go away. I promise."

So reluctantly, Dipper uncurled his legs from the crate, planting his feet on the grass. His fingers gripped the edge of the crate, his jaw clenched as he tried to force himself to open his palm for the dead bird. Seeing Dipper's reluctance, Dip nuzzled her head against his leg, rubbing dry blood on his blue jeans. Dipper cringed, trying his best not to jump up and run for his life. Now, Dipper wasn't a scaredy cat. He's fought monsters and demons before, for God's sake. But, Dip the dog had ways of scaring people. 

The brunet opened his palm hesitantly in front of him, lowering it so Dip can place the carcass in his hand. And that's exactly what the dog did, opening her jaw wide so the dead bird can plop itself on Dipper's hand, mixing saliva and blood on his hand. The fluids mixed and dripped on the floor, making the brunet cringe and wrinkle his nose in a slightly disgusted manner.

Ford let out a breathy laugh at his nephew's discomfort, setting his wrench down to watch. Will rested his chin on the hatch he made, amused by Dipper's reaction. His dog barked out happily, turning around and strutting over to her owner with a lopsided grin only Will could copy. 

Behind Dip, Dipper Pines dropped the dead bird with a small yelp, wiping his hand on his jeans. 

Will scratched his dog behind the ears, murmuring his praise. His dog barked happily at his compliments, tail wagging crazily and ears perked up. While Dip may be the world's scariest dog, she was a little teddy bear when it came to Will.

"Aren't you the sweetest?" Will cooed. "Giving your thanks to the guy letting us stay here? Good girl!"

Dip barked once more, a high-pitched one that made Dipper cringe. "She honestly didn't have to do that," Dipper grumbled underneath his breath, setting the large blueprint back onto his lap.

"Dipper, be nice! That dog was saying her thanks!" Ford scolded.

"Listen to your Great Uncle, Pines," Will laughed, lowering his scratching to Dip's neck, the dog sticking her tongue out and stretching her neck to allow him more room. "Good girl!" he cooed.

"You've been staying at the Shack for two days now," Dipper grumbled, "and only now your dog says thank you?"

"Hey, to be fair, the last two days were hard on her," Will shrugged. The first day he came here, he automatically came up to his room in the attic with Dip to sleep. Only, Dip was busy barking at the window sill at the cat taunting them and trying to get to Will without being eaten alive by the dog. The morning he woke up, which was yesterday, the same thing happened, but this time it was in the kitchen. The two animals quarreled whenever there was a window or barrier between them, and only on the second day did the two seem to calm down. It drove the whole family nuts. 

"So uh," Dipper began awkwardly. "You've been staying here for two days but we still don't know anything about your dog. 'Mind telling us?"

"Why?" Will frowned. He kept scratching his dog's ear soothingly.

"I don't know, I'm curious. Plus, I've been staring at this for so long I think I might go blind from pure boredom," Dipper groaned.

"No one was forcing you to keep staring at it!" Ford scolded.

"Yeah, you kind of did!"

Ford shrugged in a _eh, you got me_ style. He turned his body slightly to the side, checking for loose corners and crannies in case it would collapse if they kept building the inside. 

"I found her abandoned on the streets of Ne- of Germany," Will began. "Half dead, too. I brought her in and we were stuck like glue ever since. Anything _else_ you need to know, your Highness?"

"Name."

Will's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?" Then it hit him and he almost smacked the middle of his forehead for his stupidity. They didn't know Dip's name. And he couldn't tell them what her real name is, now could he?

"Oh," he blinked. He looked down at Dip, still scratching her neck. Dip inclined her head to the side, sticking her tongue out and panting with her eyes staring at him almost expectantly. _Well? Go tell them!_ her eyes seemed to say. _You're an idiot, Cipher. Just tell them something else if you're so embarrassed by your only child._ Her thoughts that seemed to seep from her own dog looks made Will chuckle. 

Will looked up, smiling at Dipper. "Her name is Little Bear," he replied, the name smooth and natural on his tongue. "Her original name is in German, but that's the rough translation in your language."

"Little Bear," Ford repeated, his dark brow knitting together in concentration. "I remember something about that name. Something about constellations. Isn't Little Bear another word for Li-?"

"Is there anything else you want me to do, Ford? The hatch you told me to make is finished," Will interrupted. He chuckled to himself. "It's been finished for a while now, actually."

"Ah, yes, of course." Ford bobbed his head in understanding, looking down at the hatch Will made out of the wooden planks. "Perfect," he beamed. He spun his wrench around a finger mindlessly, looking around the messy yard to find something for William to do.

"Oh, can you get me the hot glue gun? I need to glue the wood flooring here to make a base," Ford said, pointing at the glue gun plugged in by the corner of the Shack. It was just a few feet away from where Will was. 

"Yeah, I'll-" Will began, beginning to stand up from his kneel on the grass. 

"-get it," Dipper finished, folding his blueprint to his side as he stood up. He pivoted, walking over to the hot glue gun so he could hand it over to his Grunkle Ford. Will relaxed, dropping back to the grass. He's got it handled.

Dipper unwrapped the long cord of the hot glue gun, dropping it to the ground in a heap. It tangled around his ankle without him knowing, and Will looked up in surprise. The cord tightened around his left leg as Dipper threw down the last of the long cord. The brunet gave the trigger one little pull to check if the glue was working, satisfied when a little dab came out of the metal end. He turned around, oblivious to the black cable snaking around himself.

Will could barely let out a yelp of warning before Dipper tripped, stupidly bringing his hands in front of him to try and stop the fall. His wrist came into contact with the hot tip, the glue that Dipper sputtered out still hot and sizzling to the touch. It didn't help that Dipper basically smashed the gun against his wrist, causing the glue to stick to his skin painfully. 

Dipper screamed out, hissing and gritting his teeth so hard that tears sprang in his eye. Ford called out for his nephew, not knowing what was wrong because Dipper's form was hidden behind the crate. William, on the other hand, had a perfectly good view of the brunet, watching him try and crawl out of the cable wrapped around his leg while he tried to pull the gun away from his skin. Tears glistened in his working eye angrily from the growing heat, frustrated that he couldn't get it out. 

Almost immediately, Will stood up, striding over to the hurt boy. He held Dipper's shoulder still as he grabbed the head of the gun, pulling it out so fast that Dipper didn't have time to yelp as it was ripped from him like Velcro. Will grimaced at the wound it left.

A ripped skin ring, red and angry, like blisters, almost. But only, blisters didn't make people hiss in pain, at least for not very long. It looked extremely painful, the wound covering Dipper's whole wrist, like a bracelet. 

Will took Dipper's good wrist, pulling him up and dragging him into the Shack. "Will, what are you-?" Dipper gasped out, his burnt hand shaking so profusely that Will had to clench his jaw.

Will didn't answer him, instead dragging him inside without a word. They past the gift shop where Wendy was closing up for the day, the red-headed girl waving to them before they disappeared into the living room of the Pines. Will turned them around quickly lest the girl saw his face and remembered him, basically speeding down the halls before he stopped in front of a closed door.

He pushed it open, pushing Dipper after him and closing the door shut with an audible click. Dipper, after being released, covered his burned wrist with a hand, bottom lip trembling as he tried not to whimper in pain. 

Will's mouth turned down, brow furrowed as he looked at his lo- friend in worry. His heart ached in his chest, and all he wanted to do was kiss Dipper and murmur that everything was going to be okay and he'd take care of him. 

But knowing that he clearly couldn't do that, Will snarled to himself. Dipper looked up at him, eyes wide with pain and surprise. He must have thought that Will sneered at him, thinking that Dipper was stupid for burning himself. Dipper cringed back, trying to find the door knob so he could get out. 

"Don't," Will said dryly. "Come here."

Dipper hesitated, looking at Will silently. It finally comprehended in the demon's mind that the boy didn't speak in fear that it would come out as strained and full of pain. After all, a hot glue gun burn that big was something that would even make Will cringe back in surprise. 

Will didn't speak to him, instead turning around and walking over to the sink in front of them. They were in a bathroom, a narrow one that didn't even have a shower. Just a toilet and a sink. This room was probably made because it was so small and they didn't know what else to make of it. Will couldn't blame them. 

He turned on the sink, blasting it on its coldest setting. He ran his fingers over the water, feeling for it to become ice cold. And when it did, he put his free hand on the small of Dipper's back, feeling the boy tense as he pushed him forward gently. 

Now that Dipper was in front of the sink by his right side, Will took his forearm and jutted it towards the cold water, dousing his burned wrist in water so cold that it could top Pacifica's hea- er, an ice cooler. 

Dipper hissed out in surprise, body tensing. Realizing that his hand was still on Dipper's back, Will retracted it, letting his right arm dangle by his side while his left held onto Dipper's forearm in a vise grip, making sure Dipper didn't try and pull back his arm. 

Carefully, but slowly, Dipper's body relaxed, his fingers unclenching and opening up in an open palm. Will pressed his lips together tightly, forcing himself to not murmur words of encouragement to the boy. While it would help somehow to soothe the brunet, Will didn't want to scare him off. After all, they were supposed to act like new acquaintances living in the same house because the other did a good favor. 

Not lovers. No, not yet. Will lost track of how many times he had to remind himself that each time Dipper kissed Damon, or when Damon kissed him. He always had to bite his lip until it bled when he heard the two flirting behind his back during breakfast or while he cleaned up the living room for the hell of it. He couldn't have Dipper. Not yet. 

But when he did, the first thing he was going to do was slaughter the dark-haired boy that took his everything from him.

When Dipper was comfortable with the water hitting his skin, Will slid his hand up his forearm, moving his thumb over the burn carefully and gently. Dipper yelped, hand clenching and body tensing up in surprise. 

"Calm down," Will soothed. "I'm just taking off the remaining glue as gently as possible. We don't want any more of your skin ripped, now do we?"

Silently and like a little child, Dipper shook his head. "Good," Will said softly. "We'll keep your wrist under water for ten more minutes, okay? Then I'll put some salve on it and wrap it in a gauze. How does that sound?"

"Good," Dipper mumbled, dipping his head to his chin in shame. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, kid," Will assured him. "I'm just- doing my job as your guest."

"You didn't have to take care of my burn, you know," Dipper told him, lifting his head to look at him. His brown eyes searched Will's, wide and curious. It made Will's heart skip a beat, and he had to look away before Dipper noticed. He scowled to himself. Ugh, _feelings_. 

"Then consider me your guardian angel," Will finally let out. At least it didn't come out sounding strange and foreign. He sounded like his usual cocky self, and Dipper bought into it.

The boy laughed under his breath, shoulders shaking from the force of it. "A guardian angel," he mused to himself. His eyes were set to the water still cascading down his burned wrist, watching the waterfall intently like it held secrets of the world. It was cute, and Will choked back a cough. 

"I haven't heard that in a very long time," Dipper murmured. 

"What do you mean?"

Dipper cleared his throat uncomfortably, clearly embarrassed by the fact that William heard him speak under his breath. A habit that unfortunately for him, never went away. "N- nothing," he stammered, eye darting around 

"Kid, you're stuck with me for ten more minutes. You really want to play this game with me?" Will's tone suggested that he was teasing the boy, but the layer of it sounded a little threatening, impatient even. 

"R- right. Sorry," Dipper sputtered, free hand scratching an itch on his neck in humiliation. "But I don't think you don't want to hear about my sob story, it's-"

"Of course I do," Will stated simply. "But uh, if you're not comfortable speaking about all of it, that's fine with me. But I'm listening. I got nothing else to lose."

"If I told you, I don't think you'll take me seriously anymore," Dipper explained, trying his best to talk Will out of it. But as they both knew, Will was a stubborn man.

"Did I _ever_ take you seriously?" Will snorted. "Come on kid, it can't be that bad. What are you even talking about, anyway?"

"W- well," Dipper stammered. Then he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and releasing the air through his nostrils slowly. It became quiet in the stuffy little room, the sound of running water and draining itself down a pipe filling the air. It took a while for Dipper to finally speak. And when he did, Will's grip on his forearm tightened. 

"Before I started dating Damon," Dipper began, "I...had another boyfriend."

"Do you remember his name?" William prodded. His voice wasn't demanding, nor was it soft and curious. Just enough insistence in it that Dipper replied. 

"No," Dipper admitted shamefully. "In fact, I- I don't actually...really know what he looks like anymore. Damon says it's because of my brain damage. The uh, hanging caused me to forget some things. For a while I couldn't even remember my own name."

"But do you _want_ to remember?" Will asked slowly. Carefully, like Dipper was going to snap at him. 

"No," Dipper said again. Firmly, a statement he was going to stand by. "I'm glad I forgot that jerk. He cheated on me, I remembered that much. He- he did something else, but I can't remember I just- remember being angry, you know? Damon says he was a jerk to everyone else too, and that he manipulated me. He told me it hurt him to see me being with that guy, and with how he describes my ex, I believe him."

Despite feeling the answer deep inside, and already bracing himself for the answer to come before hand, Will felt himself tense. If Dipper could feel Will's grip tightening on his own forearm, he didn't mention it.

"Well, I think your ex should rot in hell," Will strained out. 

Strangely, he wasn't lying.

"Heh, thanks," Dipper smiled. "It's an uh, touchy subject. I haven't talked about him in a long time, but I'm glad I did now. Made me realize that I should have gotten over him a long time ago."

"This doesn't make sense though," Will finally said, inclining his head to the side as he looked over at Dipper. "What does this have to do with guardian angels?"

"Oh, right," Dipper mumbled. "I...was hoping you didn't catch that."

Will chuckled. "I'm a watchful man, Dipper. So, tell me."

"I used to call him my angel," Dipper blurted out. As soon as the words left his mouth, it looked like he wanted to clamp his mouth over with his hand. Eyes wide, he coughed, cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. 

Seeing that Will wasn't giving him any weird looks as of yet, Dipper continued, probably thinking that he was already far into the shit he got himself into. "Well I mean- I don't remember him, I honestly don't. I don't remember what he looks like, or even remember how we met. I don't even fucking remember what we did together. But I uh, remember what it felt like being with him." He dipped his head in shame, eyes still glued on the sink sputtering out the water. His hand was relaxed, twitching only slightly.

"I felt like I was at home," Dipper announced, his voice edged with emotion- pain, in particular. "I felt like- like he could protect me from everything. He was just...everything to me and I-" Dipper cleared his throat, looking extremely red and uncomfortable. Will's eyes lowered. 

"When I found out he died, I just..." He trailed off, his voice faltering in his own throat. 

"When you found out, you tried to hang yourself almost immediately, didn't you?" William guessed. "It hurt you so bad that you were suicidal?"

"He left me without saying goodbye and I just got angry, I guess," Dipper said with a shake of his head. "Yeah, he cheated. Yeah, he wasn't perfect. But who was? I felt hurt and betrayed Will, so I just thought that hanging myself would bring him back to me. I guess I was stupid for doing that, huh?"

Will swallowed the lump in his throat. So that was why. 

Silence settled over the two like a coat, muffling the words the two wanted to say to each other. Will wanted to tell him that everything was okay, that _he_ would be okay. But he would be a bigger liar than he already was if he did. 

"I'm- really sorry about that," Dipper finally said. He lifted his free hand up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose in disgust. Disgusted at himself for rambling to a man he just met. "Usually I wouldn't tell my sad life story to a person I just met but- ugh!" He made a face, confused and revolted by his own words. 

"Oh, don't be sorry," Will chuckled. He ran his thumb back over Dipper's wrist carefully, satisfied when the brunet didn't cry out in pain again. "It was an...interesting story, Pi- Dipper."

"Interesting as in completely and utterly pathetic," Dipper said, nose still wrinkled in disgust. He sighed, huffing. It was a moment before his voice quieted, words that confused himself and Will. "I guess it's just because I like you."

Will's heart stopped in his chest. "Y- you mean as a friend or-?" he sputtered out. Great, now _he_ was the stuttering idiot. 

"Wh-? Shit, that came out wrong," Dipper hissed, smacking his forehead with his free hand. He shook his head. "I just meant, I like you. You're...nice. I don't get much friends nowadays."

Will, deciding that he shouldn't speak lest he stammered like an idiot, turned off the sink, his fingers still curled around Dipper's warm skin. Dipper twitched, unused to the feeling of no more water. His wrist burned up again almost immediately, causing the brunet to hiss out in between his teeth. 

Will sighed through his nose, letting go of his forearm to reach over the mirror. He opened it, taking out a fresh wrap of clean gauze and a salve tube. 

Dipper watched him, retracting his hand and rubbing his wrist almost subconsciously. He gritted his teeth, the burning sensation crawling underneath his skin still. Will glanced at him as he unwrapped the gauze, concerned about the boy. Thankfully, his heart was slowing down from the mild heart attack Dipper had just given him. 

He set the materials down on the ledge of the sink, taking Dipper's forearm once more and lifting it to his face. Again, Dipper didn't stop him, watching him carefully. Will's brow furrowed, eyes flickering over scar. It wasn't as bad as he thought, the skin only red and puffy. It didn't break, thankfully. Just red. His shoulders relaxed. 

He took up the salve with his other hand, uncapping it with his teeth. He dabbed the salve on Dipper's wrist carefully, feeling him tense up at the contact. He put the tube back on the ledge, using his thumb to rub the salve all over his wrist carefully. "Does it still hurt?" Will murmured. 

"No," Dipper replied sheepishly. "It just stings."

"Good."

Will took up the gauze, wrapping it once around Dipper's wrist. Not tightly, but not too loose. He ripped the gauze with his teeth, setting it down with the tube. His eyes lowered to Dipper's wrist, smoothing it out with his fingers. "Don't take it off until I say so, alright? We can't be too careful," Will told him. He ran his thumb over the gauze soothingly. "Thankfully, you didn't burn yourself enough that your skin broke, but it'll still hurt like a bitch if you put pre-"

Feeling eyes burn into him, Will looked up. Dipper was looking at him with a strange look, head slightly inclined to the side with his brows pulled together in attentiveness. "What?" Will frowned. Did he say something?

"Did anyone tell you that your eyes look like beautifully cracked glass?" Dipper asked him quietly. 

Will smiled at him kindly. "I'll take that as a compliment."

As if realizing what he said, Dipper's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh- I- uh- s- sorry I- I didn't-" he stammered, retracting his hand away from William's grip. 

Will laughed. He was glad that his awkward nerd was still in there, even if it was small. "No, don't apologize. It's always the first thing someone compliments me on," Will assured him. He folded his arms across his chest, not wanting them to dangle uselessly without Dipper to hold onto. 

"Well, I can believe that," Dipper smiled. His nervousness disappeared, replaced by the confident little bastard Dipper turned himself into. "I don't think your eyes are naturally made. At least, not genetically. Did something happen to you or...?"

"I was born with them," Will lied through his teeth. "Doctors told my parents that my eyes will melt into a normal color when I grew up. Didn't really happen, now did it?" He laughed to himself for effect. He was already so used to the question that it came naturally to him now.

"That's...honestly really hard to believe. I still don't think your eyes were naturally made," Dipper insisted, shaking his head as he stared into Will's eyes. Looking for a detail or a sign that his eyes were contact lenses or somehow surgically made. 

"Now who's the stubborn one?" Will joked. "I was born with them. Seriously."

"Seriously?" Dipper repeated. 

"Serious," Will promised him. 

Dipper's brow furrowed, his cute little nose twitching slightly as he kept looking into William's eyes. Will shifted a little as Dipper's fingers ran over his bandaged wrist subconsciously, eyes hooding slightly in concentration. Hair fell over Will's eyes, almost covering them wholly. 

He didn't even have time to move them away when Dipper's hand almost shot forward, hesitantly stilling over Will's face. The brunet frowned.

"Can I...?" He trailed off, the question hanging in the air. 

"Yeah, sure, sure," Will mumbled, distracted by the hooded look on Dipper's face. A concentrated appearance that Will missed. A look that made him fall deeper and deeper in love with the human, and he couldn't stop it. 

Now was no exception. 

He swallowed visibly as Dipper's fingers brushed against his forehead, moving his messy hair away from his eyes to look deeper. Dipper squinted, mouth slightly parted. Then his mouth moved, but no words or sounds came out. He mouthed things to himself, distracted by William's eyes as he looked intently, oblivious to William's pounding chest. 

Will could feel his breath hitching. His heart pounded in his chest with how close the boy was to him. And how blind he was to Will falling deeper in love. All over again. 

Maybe he could close the gap between them. 

He could just lean in, cover his mouth with Dipper's, feel his lips just one last time before Dipper wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him closer and kissing him back, then Will could-

A loud thud jolted the both of them back from reality, heads turning to the door behind them. Someone must've entered the living room. 

Will cleared his throat, clenching and unclenched his hands to get over the lost moment. "We should uh, tell your great uncle you're fine now," Will said, his words in a jumble and coming out way too fast, even for him. 

"Hmm?" Dipper said in a daze, brow still pulled together in thought. Then the reality smacked him across the face again, his eyebrows shooting up high. "Oh! Right! Right. I kind of uh, forgot." To make up for his distracted moment, Dipper smiled politely at him. 

Will fought back a chuckle, turning around to make his way out of the door with Dipper in tow. He turned the knob, eyes flickering downwards to look at Dipper's bandaged wrist one last time. He took a deep breath, eyes coming back to the door in front of him as it swung open.

They stepped out, Will leading the way back to the yard with Dipper walking close behind him. They weaved past the living room, making their way to the gift shop before they bumped into Ford. Behind him, Ford had the door to the gift shop open, the windows telling them that the sun has finally came down. It was useless to work on the machine now. 

"Oh! William, Dipper!" Ford exclaimed in surprise, stepping backward. Popcorn flew out of his bowl.

William's eyes narrowed. Ford was holding a bowl of popcorn and two cans of Pitt Cola wedged between his elbows. What in the-?

Ford's eyes jumped to Dipper's bandaged wrist, his posture relaxing visibly. "Oh, thank goodness," he sighed. "I thought my great nephew had to go to the hospital." His eyes flickered from Dipper's wrist to Will, his eyes already saying his thanks before he even spoke them. "Thank you, William."

"It was nothing," Will shrugged. "I was just protecting your nephew in return."

Ford beamed at him proudly.  "See, you're already five times better than that Rookie kid and you've been here for only two days!" he boasted with a laugh. 

"Grunkle Ford!" Dipper complained. 

"Oh, shut your mouth if you know what's good for you, Dipper my boy," Ford said with a roll of his eyes. "Your boyfriend didn't help you in this situation now did he?" Ford said again. Will stifled a snort

"Please stop," Dipper moaned, burying his face in his hands. 

Ford laughed at his nephew's embarrassment, eyes lit with joy. Careful to make sure he didn't spill any of his precious popcorn and drinks, Ford jabbed a finger behind them to the living room. "Well, the only thing your boyfriend is good for is finding movies at least," Ford said, hiking the bowl back up his elbow. "He came home from the grocery store with well, groceries. But he brought back a movie rental too and suggested we all watch it together. I thought it was a good idea to wind down for a bit."

Will glanced over at Dipper, who in turn, glanced at him. "Well, I mean, I'm not against it," Will shrugged.

Dipper grunted, eyes turning over back to Ford. "Well, alright. What movie did he get?" Dipper asked, caving in. Will grinned, and so did Ford. He was starting to think he could mend his friendship with Fordsy again. It was a good thing the man never saw his human form, or else things would have gotten complicated. 

"I don't know. But I trust him enough," Ford said with an awkward half-shrug. 

Together, the three of them walked down the hall to the living room, Ford leading the way this time. 

Di- Little Bear found Will in the middle of the hall, barking happily and coming over to him. She stayed close by his legs, nuzzling up next to him. Will leaned down a little, patting her head soothingly. If dogs could purr, Little Bear would have done it by now. 

Something was wedged in between his dog's mouth, causing Will to look down in curiosity. Little Bear looked up at him, eyes wide with joy as she barked, the thing still in her mouth. 

Will took it up generously, patting her head as they walked. His steps faltered, but Ford and Dipper continued into the living room without him. Dipper, the only one not oblivious to his sudden stop, looked behind him with a frown. "You coming?" he asked. 

"I'll be there in a minute, I just have to look at something," Will told him, looking up from the paper to smile encouragingly. Dipper smiled back faintly, turning his head back around to enter the living room. 

Will breathed out a sigh, head dropping back down to the rolled up newspaper that was covered in Little Bear's slobber. His nose wrinkled, but he took off the rubber band keeping the paper rolled up either way. He tossed the rubber band to the ground, unrolling it with the tips of his fingers. 

On the front page was a headline that made him inhale sharply. 

_Two children in Idaho Falls were brutally mutated and ripped apart in a local park at exactly 3:00 AM, according to police reports._

His eyes narrowed, flickering down to the small imprint that included the details of the murder. It chilled him to the bone somehow, and he couldn't figure out why. Just something about this seemed...

_The missing people era has once again risen. Though this time, bodies of the missing folks have been discovered. In a shocking discovery, policemen arrived at the scene of the crime at 7:32 AM, finding two bodies hanging from monkey bars almost mockingly. A quick run through their systems found no signs of distress or anxiety, a death that was calculated to about 3 in the morning. The parents, who wish to be kept anonymous, told police that their children went to sleep soundlessly the night before, hearing no struggle or commotion around the time of their deaths._

_These two children were four and three years old, a girl and a boy to be accurate. Why these innocent kids were targeted are still under investigation, and any information about them and their killers can be contacted at-_

Will shook his head in disgust, done with reading the paper. Idaho Falls. Just like Gravity Falls. 

A chill ran down his spine as he read the rest of the story, breaths coming in short and fast. Something wasn't right. 

After reading about boring sample reports of the children's bodies, Will turned the page, expecting nothing more than columns of words upon words of useless information.

But instead, he got photographs of the lifeless kids. 

They hung from monkey bars, arms and legs splayed sickeningly like someone wanted others to see how they've tortured the poor kids. Blood dripped from the dark blue bars, forearms slashed and filleted, rolled up and skinned. The boy's eyes were gouged out, while the girl's ears were cut cleanly off, leaving nothing but dark splotches at each side of her head. As always, their ribs were ripped open half, the organs on the ground or on the bars beside them. 

The blood drained out of Will's face. Not because of how gory the image was because let's face it, what kind of newspaper would allow such a photograph? But because how the two kids looked. Familiar, kind faces he's seen a lifetime ago but would never forget. 

He stepped backwards, almost walking into a cable and tripping. His hands shook as they gripped the paper tighter, the poor paper crinkling and breaking to his strong grasp. "No," he whispered under his breath. _Please not them, please not them, no, no, no-_

"Will? Are you coming or what, you little slow poke?" Stan called from the living room with a nasty laugh. 

Will was slapped across the face, coming out of his little daze. He scowled at the photograph, tearing it in half in his fit of rage. And realizing that something was wrong, he stopped himself from tearing the newspaper into fourths. The photograph, obviously too gory and explicit for a kind old newspaper company, was not supposed to be there after all. 

It was taped, with the real photo being the last pictures of two separate children smiling. Last pictures before the murder, probably. Someone wanted to show him their deaths. The murderer was taunting him, showing him that he couldn't-

Will bit down on the inside of his cheek until it bled, ripping the paper into tiny shreds and stuffing it inside the trash can in the hallway. His hands shook, his mind cloudy with rage and the blood thirst for the son of a bitch's head and organs.

He stuffed his trembling hands in his pockets, marching into the living room with a clenched jaw, chin held up high. 

He walked into the living room, hearing laughter fill the room like a gust of fresh air after being locked in a stuffy closet for so long. His eyes first flickered over to the large bodies squished together on the floor, a blanket between the two as they punched each other and drank their sodas. Stan and Ford, twins closer than ever, smiling and laughing. 

And up above them was Dipper and Damon, cuddling with Damon's arm over Dipper's shoulders lazily as Dipper fed his boyfriend some popcorn. Dipper giggled when Damon pretended to bite off his fingers, causing the rookie to grin.

His hands clenched in his pockets, his irritation shooting over the roof. And it only climbed up higher, mixing in with his heart attack, as he looked at the movie front page on the TV. 

"Is this some kind of joke?" Will demanded, his neck craning over to the innocently smirking boy.

Damon put a popcorn in his mouth lazily, smiling at him with a twinkle in his eyes that made Will grit his teeth together. He wanted to throttle the boy so bad, but unfortunately, Dipper was watching. Perhaps he could murder the boy in his sleep.

"Why?" Damon asked politely. "What's so bad about The Human Centipede 3?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just a gentle reminder of the killings still happening due to the portal issue in the cave lol. I haven't forgotten about that, don't worry.


	12. The Film of Please Stop

_"I was a liar_  
_I gave in to the fire_  
_I know I should've fought it_  
_At least I'm being honest_  
_Feel like a failure_  
_'Cause I know that I failed you_  
_I should've done you better_  
_'Cause you don't want a liar."_

**[One Last Time | Ariana Grande](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg92RrNhB8s) **

* * *

Will sighed, bringing his feet up to his chest as Bill began eating from his special package, which were dried African clitorises. Now, that was the kind of thing a Bill would do. 

"Is that even possible?" Stan grunted, making a disgusted face at the TV screen with a soda in hand. 

"Well yes, actually. You just need a surgical cutter and-" Ford began with a thoughtful look. 

Stan cut him off with a punch to the bicep, snickering when Ford yelped and gave him a dirty glare. "I didn't ask you to _explain,_ Poindexter," he snickered. Ford wrinkled his nose, eyes narrowing at his brother. It looked kind of creepy with the red glow from the TV shadowing his face.

"Shh! It's getting to the good parts!" Damon hissed under his breath, leaning forward. 

Ford rolled his eyes, Stan mimicking Damon's words quietly to his brother in a mocking manner. Ford in turn, began to laugh, causing Damon and Dipper to hush them up again. The twins merely ignored them, laughing and snickering things like, "What good parts? Your mom?" Oh, they were so childish. 

William let out a loosened breath through his nose, burying his face in his knees with only his eyes peeking out to look at the screen. The movie was terrible, the actors weren't that good, and the screening wasn't even _realistic!_ But while it was hardly scarier than a two year old in a bunny costume, William couldn't bare to watch it. 

Not because he thought it was scary, but because of the cuddling couple right across from him. 

On the tiny sofa chair, he was able to spot the couple on the long couch as he looked at the TV. There was no getting away from seeing them, no matter how hard he tried. He chomped down on the inside of his cheek, forcing his eyes to stay focused on the yellow and red glow of the damn movie. 

Screams filled the air as one of the inmates from the movie was waterboarded for prank-calling Bill, being boiled alive with his skin welting red and black and his face turning horribly disfigured. The inmate screamed at Bill, telling him he had no soul left, in which Bill did not respond to. Will's lips curled into a small smile. Bill and him had that in common. 

Governor Hughes appeared right afterwards, yelling at Bill to stop it and that he would get fired almost immediately if he did not stop. Again, in turn, Bill snaps and yells, turning away like an angered child. The scene in front of him would have been hilarious if not for the fact that it reminded William of a certain someone. He couldn't even tell if it made him shameful, embarrassed, or satisfied. 

"Christ, I guess it's a universal thing for people named Bill to be asshats," Stan grumbled, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. 

"And sadistic. Don't forget sadistic," Ford piped in with a chuckle. 

Above them on the couch, Dipper and Damon were still cuddling, but the brunet was beginning to shake, looking sick to his stomach. He didn't even touch the popcorn bowl anymore, which served as a plus for Damon, who stuffed the food into his mouth hungrily without even looking slightly concerned by his boyfriend's pale face. William scowled darkly. 

He didn't even appreciate what he had right beside him. 

"Oh God, that is _disgusting!"_ Stan said, his words clipped with disgust. He coughed, probably gagging from the scene in front of him. Ford shifted uncomfortably, and it gave Will slight joy in seeing that even the most bravest men would gag over cooked testicles. He frowned himself. The scene itself was horrid, he had to admit, but he refused to even flinch. Why were humans so insistent on watching movies about anus-to-mouth experiments? What humans would even agree to _filming_ that?

But while he himself had enough control to keep a straight face and a relaxed body, Dipper Pines did not. The boy shook, yelping and burying his face in his boyfriend's shoulder like a frightened bunny. His whole body shook, his face ten times lighter from the blood being drained out of it. 

This time, Damon took notice of Dipper's fright, holding him close and whispering something in his ear, brows furrowed and lips turned down in a frown. 

Will frowned to himself, turning his eyes back to the TV before any of them noticed his glowering stares. He was concerned for Dipper, of course, and he didn't want anything more right now than to shut off the TV and feed the boy some sweets to see him smile, even if it was a brief one. But he knew Dipper's limits more than anyone, and a simple movie with graphic content like this did not turn such a stubborn boy to...shake and whimper like some baby deer. 

Sure he almost fainted when they watched the previous installment all those years ago, but...

Will's frown deepened, eyes on the TV but his focus on the corners of his vision. Dipper sniffled, whimpering into Damon's shoulder as the boy calmed him down, stroking his flat hair and whispering things Will was unfortunately too far away to hear. And though this was a normal enough vision for somebody else, it concerned the demon more than he cared to admit. 

He had a feeling Dipper wasn't scared of the movie itself, but the monster it was reminding him. The sadistic and psychotic prison warden, cold and bitter. Bill, the same name as the one who took his childhood away from him when he was twelve. Bill, the same person who erased everything he loved, with not as much as a blink. And while Dipper did not remember the times where Bill Cipher was there to care for him, to love him, he remembered the monster who broke his mind. 

He remembered the devil who loved him so much they would have set the world on fire, and then broke him to a million pieces. Unfortunately, Dipper Pines only remembered the last part. But William remembered everything. And he hated himself for it. 

"Hey, is this a porno or a horror movie?" Stan barked out with a laugh, pointing at the screen and slapping Ford on the shoulder. "Look brother, it's the thing you couldn't have and I had on a daily schedule!" He was referring to the subtle blowjob being given on screen. 

"I'm aromantic asexual, you failed abortion," Ford answered dryly.

"We're twins, Stanford."

"Exactly. They wanted me and thought you were the equivalent of an unnecessary movie sequel."

Stan sniffed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a sip of his soda. "Wow okay. I save you from an alternative dimension after thirty years and _this_ is how you treat me? Ford!" he scolded. 

"You will never let that go, will you, Stanley?" Ford sighed. 

"Nope! 'Cause I'm your twin!" Stan grinned. 

"No, you were simply born with me. You are the abomination of America, and-"

"Guys!" Dipper shouted, his voice firm and strong. As if he wasn't whimpering on his boyfriend's shoulder three seconds ago. "The movie!" His voice cracked. 

"Wha-?" Ford and Stan began, swiveling their heads to the movie. Almost instantly, their faces changed into looks of repulsion, wrinkled and curled. Will, not paying much attention to the movie beforehand, turned his eyes to the screen. He curled his lips back in disgust.

"Is this movie-ception, or what?" Stan said sarcastically. Beside him, Ford wrinkled his nose, elbowing him hardly in the ribs with a satisfying grunt in return. Ford didn't seem to mind the graphics of the movie as much as William did, but pretty much looked uncomfortable watching it with his brother and grand-nephew (and uh, boyfriend and friend, he guessed). 

Damon made an "ew" face, holding onto Dipper even tighter. The brunet buried his face once more at his comforting touch, eyes averting away from the TV. Will grinned to himself, propping his chin on the back of his hand on the sofa arm rest. His stomach stretched downwards, settling himself like a cat napping on the small chair. He was glad that Damon was starting to get uncomfortable. Maybe with his luck, he'd walk away and he can-

" _YEAH_ , NO." Will smacked his hands over his eyes. Oh, for fuck's sake. 

The elder twins brought their small baby blue blanket up to their faces, eyes large. Their faces reflected their disgust and pretty much reflected each other's- they were twins, after all. "Now, that's what I call a mature movie!" Stan shouted. "Bunch of pussies," he added under his breath. 

"Stanley, what the fuck!"

On the couch, Damon watched with a disgusted look, gently placing Dipper's head back down to his chest when Dipper tried to peek at the movie. Dipper complained, of course, but he obliged to his boyfriend's wishes either way. The rookie (was that even a valid nickname anymore?) rubbed Dipper's back in comforting circles, murmuring things under his breath as he did so.

Will's eyes narrowed. Something stabbed in his chest, feeling like lightning was stabbing his heart. No, lighting was better than that. If he could, he would've murdered Damon by now. He would have tortured him, forced him to be a part of that wretched human centipede. He would have made sure Damon's name was erased from the face of the earth. He would have- 

He swallowed down his pride, turning his gaze away from Damon and Dipper. 

Damon made him happy. Will didn't.

Almost as if sensing his friend's sadness, Little Bear barked, climbing up the small couch beside him. William scooted a bit farther to make room for his dog, grunting under his breath as his dog's large head was plopped down on his back. He could feel Little Bear's breathing, which was steadying slowing down as she tried to sleep. How a dog could just ignore agonized screaming and human centipede experiments, he didn't know. Maybe dogs were secretly psychotic. 

No wait. Cats were psychotic. Yeah, that was right. 

He puffed out a breath, relaxing his muscles. At least he wasn't a loner anymore, in a way. Once again, he almost snorted out a laugh. For two years, he slept with at least one person in his bed, no matter who it was. A rich man, a poor waitress, a beauty vlogger- he wasn't picky. All he had to do was flirt, pretend to be a little disinterested afterwards, take them home, and get what he want. It was easy, and his contact list was proof of it. 

And now, instead of being flocked upon and praised for his good looks and charm, he was forced to watch the one he truly loved be loved by someone other than him. He squeezed his eyes shut, putting his hands on the nape of his neck like a little kid being scolded. 

He wished, more than anything, that this was just a nightmare. A needless, unnecessary, cruel nightmare. Maybe if he slept in this dream, he'd wake up in the real world, where Pine Tree would wake him up with a kiss to the lips, asking if he was alright, laughing when he made a witty response, kissing him again, reminding him that he still loved the demon, saying I love you over and over again, and Bill Cipher can push away Will, and...

And he'd be able to tell Pine Tree "I love you" everyday, he'd be able to kiss his insecurities away, he'd be able to be happy again, and he'd just be... _happy_. Yeah. This was just a dream. This was all just a dream, and all he had to do was keep his eyes closed, and everything he wanted would come-

"NOW THAT'S THE SHIT I POST ON MY BLOG!" Stan whooped, throwing his hands up in the air. 

"Stanley, you didn't even _have_ a blog!" At Ford's words, Will lifted his head warily. 

"Then I'll make one, shit-eater!"

"One, why the hell would you call me a shit-eater, we _just_ watched a movie with someone eating shit, Stanley. Two, with how you placed your words, you're implying you already have a blog, so-"

"Nobody cares about grammar, Stanford!" 

"I do," answered everyone in the room, save for Stan himself. Will, knowing the importance of grammar when flirting with people through text, grimaced. Plus, grammar was the only reason why Bill Cipher almost took over. 

In front of them, people screamed and rioted, flashing a glow on their faces from the bright screen. If the graphics weren't enough, the name 'Bill' being thrown around was enough for William to cringe back, shoulders tensing around him like a frightened cat. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, squinting at the screen. The scenes seemed to be progressed more than when he looked at it last. Huh. So he did fall asleep. 

His stomach dropped, disappointment coating him from head to toe. He knew, of course he knew, that his wishful thinking of this being a nightmare was just that- wishful thinking. But he couldn't help like he was let down after hoping for so long. 

"Why is everyone on this goddamned earth so _against_ Stan Pi-?" Stan began in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air. 

"Guys," Damon hissed, causing everyone to turn to him. "The remote. Turn off the TV."

Will propped himself further up the couch. Thankfully, his dog did not wake. "What? Too scared, Rookie?" Will asked kindly. He smiled innocently at the glowering boy. 

"I've been working at the Shack for more than three years and owned it for two," Damon hissed, "I think we can all stop calling me Rookie, _William._ Just get the fucking remote." His name was like acid on the boy's tongue. Will didn't blame him. 

He turned his head, searching for the remote the boy oh so wanted. It was right in front of the TV and the old twins were too well, _old_ to come get it without breaking their backs or taking five centuries. Will craned his neck back over to Damon, who was silently glaring at him with his arm wrapped around Dipper, who still had his face pressed against his boyfriend's shoulder. "Not until you give me a reason," he finally said.

Damon's glare became darker. He seemed to want to tell Will exactly what he wanted, but closed his mouth shut before he could. William almost chirped, calling him a coward for not telling him, when Damon's eyes flickered over to the hidden body beside him. His eyes came back up to William, taking a pleading tone to them. Will, in his midst of confusion, looked down at Dipper.

The boy was shaking. 

His mouth dried. He had a feeling that the brunet wasn't scared of the movie. This was just confirming everything he was thinking about. 

So in an instant, he got up without a word while Little Bear snorted in her sleep and shifted, his body shielding everyone from the horrors known as bad cinematographic. No one complained, of course. 

He squatted, snatching the slim black remote controller from the carpet. He pointed the tip up at the blinking light of the TV and pressed the power button. And hey, if it didn't work, he could always reach over and turn off the power manually. William feared nothing, especially psychotic people named Bill. Because you know, he used to be a psychotic person named Bill himself. 

And when it didn't turn off after pressing the power button seven times, he sighed and reached over for the small square that served as the manual power button on the TV itself. It did not turn off. 

He licked his lips, looking down at the remote and back up at the TV, right in time to see-

"NOPETY NOPE NOPE, WHO'S READY TO GO TO NOPEVILLE, KIDS, BECAUSE I FUCKING AM!" Stan screamed, throwing his arms over his face. It seems like the power of feces has gotten to poor old Stan Pines. Will thought about it. Perhaps the man got attacked by a monkey throwing feces before, which could activate his PTSD-like actions toward-

"BILL!" Damon bellowed, using his hands to cover his lover's ears. 

The moment William swiveled his head to turn to look at Damon with -if not _the_ -most hostile and cruelest deranged grin, Damon knew he fucked up calling William something he was not. His face morphed into one of both apology and bitterness, as if he was regretting saving William's ass.

"God fucking damn it, Bill Boss is so fucking stupid!" Damon continued, his words snappy and sour. William knew he wasn't just talking about the prison warden. "William, what's the hold up?!"

William ignored his words, chin down as he looked at the remote in anger and frustration. What in the fuck happened _now?_ He kept jabbing the power button, but nothing seemed to work or respond. 

"Fucking shit fucker fucked fucker asshole motherfucking-" William cursed under his breath. 

"Stan, did you seriously-?" Ford began with a sigh. 

"-yes, he did! He fucking locked the TV again!" William snapped, pressing random buttons on the controller now. No matter how hard he tried to change the TV settings or crash it to the point it would power off, nothing was happening. Seriously, did they not have a cable running through the damn thing so he could just plug it off the wall?!

"Now, how in the world did you-?" Ford blinked in surprise. 

"It's a German thing! Now let me just work in peace!" William gritted out. 

"Peace? Kid, your country tried to-" Stan started with a sarcastic undertone. 

"That was over seventy years ago, you shriveled goat dick! Now's not the time for a stupid history lesson you meat sacks could have avoided if you aborted a horribly mustached artist!" 

Ford hummed in thought, rubbing his chin. "Well, I mean, he's not wrong." Stan punched him. 

"Adolf Hitler started World War Two, not an artist, Poindexter," Stan lectured with a prideful tone, like he was finally smarter than his enormously brained brother. 

"Hitler was an artist, you idiot. And technically, World War Two was just a-" Ford began. 

"Can it, elephant head."

"How is that even a good insult?!"

"Your _mom_ is a good insult!"

"We have the same mother, you counterfeit carbon copy!"

While the two started bickering like five year olds, William was gritting his teeth, trying so hard to find a way to turn off the TV. In his midst of panic, he accidentally turned the volume up from 20% to 100%, causing screams from the movie to fill in with everyone else's, but he muted the TV soon after, thankfully. He kept switching from the remote to the TV buttons itself, but nothing seemed to work. 

It was like two years ago all over again. At least this time nobody was fainting. 

A tingle reached his heart, almost caressing it lovingly. A familiar feeling touch grazed the inside of his chest, as if something was stroking his organs. He shuddered, but continued working, completely ignoring the foreign feeling. 

Then almost as if sensing it was being neglected, his heart squeezed, cramping his chest up tightly. He could barely breathe. But he ignored it with a simple huff of irritation. 

He's had worst pains than this. Seeing Dipper curling up tighter with Damon's arms around him was proof of that. 

"William, is something wrong?" Ford called out hoarsely. The brothers finally calmed down, realizing that something was wrong when William let out a throaty grunt of extreme frustration. "Please, just turn off the TV. Stanley isn't even supposed to watch horror movies!"

"And Dipper isn't supposed to, too," Will mumbled under his breath half-consciously. It was an awfully weird fact to remember, and a small one at that, but he couldn't help remember it at this very moment. If Dipper were to be stressed out, even by a horror movie, he could...

Horror oozed into Will's system. That was why he was shaking. That was why Dipper isn't talking. He isn't scared, maybe a little, but he was-

"He's not breathing," Will whispered in horror. He looked up, locking eyes with Damon. The raven-haired boy sneered at him, pulling Dipper closer to his body. He looked like he wanted to say an insult, but the way Will was looking at him shut him up immediately. Will's eyes were filled with panic, terror, and hysteria. _"He's not breathing."_

He was a fool if he didn't know that he looked completely lost and weak, like a little boy lost at a shopping market. That was the reason why Damon shut up his witty remark, instead simply asking, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"HE'S NOT BREATHING, DAMN IT!" Will screamed, smashing the remote to the floor. It shattered into a million pieces. He barely noticed the TV buzzing and becoming short-circuited. His ears were drumming with his heart beat, his vision tinted a dark red. Like fresh blood. A mantra of _Dipper is going to die, Dipper is going to die, Dipper is going to die_ started in the dead central of his brain and he wanted to scream until his vocal cords were torn out.

And he didn't realize until it was too late that his magic was acting up to his panic, feeding itself and growing to his emotions. It built up under his skin, in his heart, in his _head,_ until it projected itself out, taunting him for the fear that caused him to break. 

The TV died out, leaving nothing but a black sleek screen that reflected his face. A disheveled man with wide eyes full of panic, hands clutched in his messy greasy hair like he was a drug addict. 

Before they could celebrate turning off the TV and finally getting it all over with, the lights above them turned off, the hum of the electricity that was barely noticed dying down, causing a foreign silence to fall over each and every single person. They were enveloped in darkness. 

No one screamed. No one moved. If anything, everyone was just, well...confused by the whole thing. 

There was a loud thumping noise, somebody moving in the dark to try and find something. Grunkle Stan let out a hoarse "Watch it!" before something clicked open. 

A dusty flashlight was turned on, casting a beam of bright yellow light to project to the opposite wall. Specks of dust floated in the light in its wake. "Is everyone alright?" Ford called out in concern. He brought the flashlight up to the ceiling, letting it project around the room the best it can. "I keep a spare flashlight under the couch for these kinds of matters, but never would I think it would be because of a...movie about human disfigurement."

"I'm fine," Stan and William assured him at the same time.

"We're okay, Grunkle Ford," Damon called out. Even in the dim lighting, Will could tell that the man flinched at being called Grunkle by someone he cleared disliked in a way. He himself winced.

"But...I think Dipper's asleep."

Will inhaled sharply. His heart felt like it was spiked in ice, being stabbed over and over again by the possibility that Dipper might have died in the arms of a-

"No," he said in a hushed whisper. He stood up but his knees almost gave way. His head swam. "Damon, _move._ "

And because his voice sounded so fragile and so utterly scared, something Damon knew Bill Cipher was never capable of, he moved. His arms pushed Dipper to the end of the couch to lay on the arm rest, pushing Dipper's feet up to the rest of the couch as he got up. 

In silence, William strode forward, knees dropping to the ground beside Dipper's head. Damon stood by the brunet's feet and the two Grunkles scooting away to allow William some room. Without a word, Ford shined his light at his nephew's face.

And when Dipper's pale face came into view, Will felt his heart wrench and squeeze. He was relieved, of course he was, but if he didn't do anything...

Dipper groaned, his arm over his eyes. His skin was noticeably whiter than usual, his brown hair sticking to his forehead and face greasily. His chest was heaving up and down, in a faster pace than should be normal, but even with the abnormal pacing, William knew he was having a hard time breathing. 

"Oh no," Damon said in shock. His voice was barely above a horrified whisper. " _Oh no._ "

"Stanford, get him some aspirin," William barked, his fingers clamping over Dipper's neck. Damon stepped forward, jaw set in a clench and his fists balled up, ready to fight William. But when he saw that Will wasn't choking his boyfriend and was simply checking his pulse, he relaxed. But his fists were still tightly clenched if need be. 

When Stanford didn't move, William let out a loosened breath. But it did nothing to dampen his anger towards his old friend. _"NOW!"_ he snarled. 

Stanford knew when it was time to act and one of those times were now. He got off the floor in a hurry, not even bothering to mention or acknowledge the crack that echoed through the room as his back snapped into place, moving so fast that he might as well have been twenty, not seventy.

"Hey, don't leave me out!" Stanley argued, shakily getting up from the floor. He too ran away to find his brother, concerned about his great nephew as much as the other did. When one of them needed help, the Pines were an unstoppable force with no boundaries. 

With their light source gone with the twins, William's only source of light was the moon and stars peeking out of the windows. 

William calmed himself down, tipping his chin downwards to get a better look at the brunet. So far, he was still breathing, making no move to move Will's hand away from his throat. Maybe he was too exhausted or knew Will was doing this to make sure he was alive. Either way, his free arm slithered upwards shakily, holding onto his wrist. 

If he said he wasn't shocked, Will was lying to himself. His shoulders stiffened, the hand gripping his wrist tightening ever so slightly. And then he felt the heart beat. A faint pulse. Faint and barely there, but Dipper was still holding on. But he needed help. 

"This is all my fault," Damon whispered, dropping to a knee beside Will. He didn't comment from the fact that his boyfriend was gripping onto somebody else. Instead, he was busy wallowing in his self-hatred. "This is all my fault! If I didn't forget that he wasn't supposed to do anything that would stress him out, I would've chosen something else!" Damon blubbered, burying his face in his hands. 

"Well, yes, it's your fault," Will said bluntly. "But instead of saying that over and over again, how about you actually do something about it for once, hmm?" Jeez, humans and their priorities. They were never right or at least hypocritical. 

"His Great Uncle might take a while finding an aspirin," Will continued, brow knitting together in concentration as his hands traveled down to Dipper's chest, finding the weak heart there. He knew it was dangerous to do this, but if no one found a solution soon, Dipper was going to suffer. _He_ was going to suffer. "Go help his uncle find some."

Then at William's words, Damon's eyes widened in shock and terror. "Oh no," he whispered. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, no no no no- _shit!"_ He stood up, gripping the scalp of his hair. "There's no aspirin in this house anymore! D- Dipper used it all up last night and I- I was going to buy some more lately but- but I forgot and-"

"Stop being a useless boyfriend towards your lover and _help him_!" Will roared. "I don't care if you think you're a bad boyfriend- which you are, by the way, but it _doesn't matter right now!_ Run, scream down the streets of how bad you are for all I care! Go to the nearest drug store and get him his fucking medicine before he _dies!_ "

And as if Damon was electrocuted, he stood up, eyes big with terror. He stepped forward, about to bolt out of there like a deer caught in the headlights when his eyes flickered down to the two. His face darkened and Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"The moment I hear from him that you did something he didn't like-" Damon began slowly and threateningly. This time, Will really did roll his eyes. 

"You'll shot me with the gun in your room, you'll throw my body out to the ocean, blah blah-" William said dryly.

"-I _will_ tell him what you've done. I'll tell him absolutely everything, and I have proof of it," Damon finally snapped, his voice low to make sure the half-conscious boy did not hear. "I'll tell him it was all you. Now, don't you think that's worst than shooting you?" William's mouth closed shut like a vise.

Damon chuckled, taking his sweet precious time as he stretched his biceps, making Will want to chuck him to a different dimension. "Thought so," he said. Will saw him shove his greaser's hat onto his head before he ran out of the living room, the Shack's door rattling close two seconds afterwards. 

Will sighed, shaking his head. He looked back down to Dipper's sick face. "You've got yourself a really bad situation here, kid," he chuckled. Almost out of instinct, he reached over and brushed Dipper's hair out of his forehead. He could see his birthmark almost clearly. 

To his touch, Dipper's arm slid away from his face, shuddering breaths breaking through the boy's body. He smiled weakly at Will, but it was strained to the point it looked bitter. "Y- you don't say," he wheezed out. But he was still smiling. 

"Why did you even let yourself watch a horror movie?" Will scolded like a parent, sighing heavily. He rested a hand on Dipper's chest. The boy didn't seem to care or notice, looking at him with a sheepish smile now. "You knew it was bad for you!"

"It- it made Damon happy so I..." Dipper strained out, coughing with a tight look on his face. 

"Kid, your happiness comes first before anyone else's. Even his," Will told him. His hand stayed completely still on the boy's chest. He could feel the warmth under the fabric of clothes and it somehow put him at peace. Relaxed, even. 

"I- I know," Dipper sighed. He let out another shuddering breath. He looked like he wanted to cough, but forced it down. "I'm...I'm sorry you had to see me like this, William."

"Like what? Hurt and looking close to death? Yeah, you better be sorry!" Will exclaimed. 

Despite the obvious pain stabbing through Dipper's chest, Dipper let out a breathy laugh. "Sorry," he said again. "This is...this is the second time today, right?"

"Mhm," Will mumbled. "You really have to keep yourself out of trouble next time, Dipper. I can't keep helping you out like this all the time."

"You're just sitting beside me, talking and forcing- forcing me to speak," Dipper wheezed out. "How- how is that in any way helping me?"

"Moral support!" Will argued. _And just you wait,_ he thought. 

Again, the brunet laughed. But then he coughed. And that would have all been fine and normal if Will didn't notice the red staining his chin. Blood. He coughed up blood. 

"Dipper," Will murmured. His hand was starting to shake on Dipper's chest. "Close your eyes for me and go to sleep."

"Is- isn't that what people say when they're going to die?" Dipper laughed again.

"Please?" His voice was just a hoarse whisper. 

The boy's mouth clamped shut any of the retorts it had. He simply frowned at Will, his neck straining as he looked up to look at his caretaker better. But Will reached out and pushed his forehead gently, forcing him to rest against the couch. 

Dipper let out a loose sigh, his chest flattening out as he did what was told. With his eyes closed and looking so at peace, Will thought he looked like a king. He almost let out a playful laugh. King Dipper. 

The king of his heart. 

"Everything will be alright. You're alright," Will promised. "He's gone, he's dead, he won't hurt you anymore. You don't need to keep hurting yourself for it too."  

He didn't know why he knew those words would calm Dipper down, but it did. Dipper's breathing evened out and his face relaxed. William, startled by the wave of emotion stranding him, felt the sudden urge to place a kiss right on the brunet's lips.

But then he shook his head of those fantasies where he'd do just that and Dipper would come back up from the kiss crying and pronouncing his love he had for Will. It wasn't how real life worked. 

Beneath William's fingers, a bright blue glow took place. His hand tingled with what felt like electricity, only becoming stronger and prickly the more he kept it there. But he refused to pull away, rubbing his hand on Dipper's chest like he was putting vapor rub. 

And slowly, as his hand moved in a relaxing and loving manner, Dipper let out another breath. Then he was asleep.

William didn't know how long he knelt there for. He didn't know how long he stood there, admiring Dipper with parted lips. He was awed,  _fascinated_ by the human in front of him. How was is it possible, that he could even be remotely lucky to have him, even for a couple weeks?

He looked so perfect sleeping there that it made William look away. 

He chewed down on his bottom lip to the point it stung, but it didn't matter. He was conflicted at the moment, actually. Between leaving and pressing his lips against Dipper's, to be exact. 

Just one stolen kiss. That's all he needed to do. Dipper was asleep and he wouldn't even know it happened. Just one, and Will would stop going insane.

But he couldn't. Dipper belonged to someone else and taking a kiss from him would just fuel Will with more hope. But on the other hand, if he didn't act, there was a chance he was going to go crazy all over again. He'd rip his hair out of his scalp, he'd scream and cry because this person right here, this absolute maniac with brown hair and a brilliant smile, was the reason he couldn't feel happiness anymore.

Because that maniac took it with him the moment Bill Cipher left the Shack two and a half years ago.

Will choked back a scream that almost ripped through his throat. Instead, it came out as a hoarse cough. The boy didn't stir from the noise, or even react. His magic exhausted him enough that he was basically knocked out cold. 

In fact, Will could feel himself slipping out of consciousness and it wouldn't be long until he blacked out from exhaustion. What he did took a great deal out of his strength and it annoyed him to no end. Restarting a heart and quickening the pulse was something Bill could do with not as much as a blink or a complaint. 

He shook his head, turning his gaze away from the brunet once more. He made his decision, and he was not going to kiss Dipper Pines. Taking care of him was enough. 

But as if someone hummed and thought " _Not so fast, William,"_   the side of his head was stabbed with a sharp pain, as if someone stuck a needle through there. 

He yelped, hands flying to each side of his head. But nothing was there. 

Then his vision blacked out and it was gone the moment it came. He was staring down at Dipper, but his eyes automatically zeroed in to the brunet's lips. And they looked so, so inviting. 

 _Kiss them,_ his mind whispered. _He'd never even know._

"No," he murmured, shaking his head. He didn't know exactly who he was disagreeing with. "No, no I can't."

As punishment, the side of his head was stabbed again with the same sharp pain. He gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out.

And this time, instead of his mind whispering things to him, to make him kiss Dipper, his vision and consciousness was pulled from reality.

Almost as if he was actually there, Dipper was out in front of him, smiling and happy with those sparkling brown eyes of his. His slightly curly hair was back and he was sitting on William's lap, taking Will's face in his hands. 

 _Don't you wish this would happen, William?_ his mind whispered. _Don't you want him?_

"Yes, yes, I do, but-" he blubbered to himself. 

"I love you," Dipper said to him. His eyes were wide with happiness. In fact, the way he said those three words were coated with happiness as well. "I love you, Bill."

William's nails dug into his palms, cutting into flesh painfully. The other half of his mind was screaming at him, telling him to get out of this nightmare as fast as he can. But, it wasn't a nightmare if he wanted it, right? Maybe...maybe he could just live in this vision a little while longer, maybe he could just-

"I love you too," he heard himself say. But his mouth didn't move. But dream or not, he would have said it in real life too. 

And to his words, Dipper's face lit up. He laughed joyfully, almost in relief. Then he brought his head down, looking at Will through his lashes with his gaze full of want. Full of _need._

Then they were kissing, despite not knowing which one first moved and which one responded first. They were a mess, a complete mess that William didn't want to clean up. 

"Stop, stop, STOP!" Will screamed. He couldn't tell if he said it out loud or just in his mind. 

 _Make him yours again,_ his mind told him. _Steal him away, kill the lover, and be with him._

"No," he pleaded. "No, I- I can't. I want to, I really want to, but-"

 _Be greedy, Bill Cipher. Be like the demon you are. Take what is yours,_ it whispered again. 

Will couldn't stop it. Oh, he tried. But no matter how hard he tried, the vision changed. 

They were on a bed, with William in the process of taking off Dipper's pants, all the while kissing his neck in want and desire. Dipper's nails clawed his back, but it felt so _good._ Everything about the vision just seemed so right, down to the hoarse whispers of pleading being told right into his ear. And it was so real.

 _Stop it,_ Will gritted. _Stop it, stop it, STOP IT! I WON'T DO IT! I WON'T!_

His mind did not try to argue. Instead, it used another tactic. It showed him another vision where Dipper was all his, moaning out his name in need as nails dug into flesh with the bed creaking, pleasure enveloping the both of them, William's hands grazing over Dipper-

_No! No, no, no, no-_

Again it changed. Dipper was playing with two kids around his feet, laughing as those kids, _their_ kids played with the both of them, all four laughing together at the family they had kept alive. 

_No, I can't-_

Dipper at the alter in a dashing suit, smiling softly and shyly at him as their vows were exchanged. And when Dipper finally said "I do", they kissed while the whole city of Gravity Falls cheered on in happiness at the happy-

_I'm sorry Dipper, I'm so sor-_

Dipper eating ice cream with him, hand in hand as they walked down the park. 

Dipper letting out a snort as Will made him laugh in the middle of the night. 

Dipper's face lighting up when Will came home.

Dipper cuddling against him snugly, whispering how much he loved Will.

Dipper smiling like a kid in a candy store when Will proposed. 

Dipper being happy with  _him._

_Stop. Please._

In turn, the visions faded away. It left him staring at the real Dipper, who was currently knocked out and sleeping fitfully on the couch. His Grunkles nor Damon had returned from their respective little missions. 

There was something sticky pressing itself against his cheek. 

He put two fingers against it and came back with wet fingers. He made a disgusted face. He cried. He actually fucking _cried._

And right when he thought it was gone and this hell was over, his mind spoke to him again. 

_Kill the lover._

"Dipper, I'm sor-" he let out hoarsely. 

He faded out. He could see the outlines of his vision as he stood up, walking right into the kitchen in a dazed state, like someone was possessing him. But that was impossible, right?

And it was impossible that he was jarred back to reality with a knife clutched in his fingers. 

 _Kill the lover, kill the lover, kill the lover,_ his mind chanted. 

His eyes narrowed down to the butcher knife in his hand. No, he wasn't going to kill Damon.

He was going to torture the boy and find amusement in his screams of agony, skinning him alive, taking out his organs, eating them, feeding them to everyone in town, keeping his head as some sick trophy-

 _Yes,_ he laughed. _Yes, that would be magnificent._ He did not know anymore if it was him who was speaking or some sick part of his mind he forgot to contain.

His left hand slid down to the actual silver blade. It was sharp and strong, durable enough to cut through bone. His own stone-faced reflection stared back at him. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest.

And then he squeezed. He didn't even flinch as dark red liquid oozed out from his flesh, coating his wrists and his forearms as it traveled downwards. His face did not change in the blade as he clenched his fingers harder, protruding more blood.

The liquid dripped silently to the kitchen floor. The splatters looked beautiful from where he was standing. His forearm was a treasure especially. It was striped with the dark red painting and Will watched it collect to his elbow in awe.

His fingers shook with agitation, his adrenaline levels kicking in. His whole body hummed like electricity. He turned his wrist, looking at his severed fingers in curiosity. They were cut deep, looking filleted to the bone. But he did not feel a thing. 

With a curse, the knife fell to the ground when his fingers refused to grip on, clattering and clanking. The blade showed his irritated face from the floor and Will's scowl deepened. 

He couldn't kill Damon today. A pity.

With a disappointed shake of a head, Will marched up to the attic. He didn't care if anyone saw the mess he made in the kitchen. He'll think of an excuse in the morning. He just hoped the scene wouldn't be seen by Dipper. Now that would have been a tragedy. 

His head was dizzy with pain as he set his head down on the pillow. His vision was already blackening out from both the magic used up and the pain still stabbing through his filleted left fingers. The only thing that wasn't broken on his left hand was his promise ring. It still glinted in the night, and William felt his stomach churn. 

He didn't care. He wasn't even remotely sickened by the thought of his blood staining the sheets. In fact, he reveled in it. 

William needed to talk to someone anyway. 

And he had a feeling she wouldn't like what he had to say. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, this was extremely hard to write. Not because it was morally hard to write overall, but because I haD TO WATCH ALL THREE SEQUENCES OF HUMAN CENTIPEDE WITH MY BEST FRIEND BECAUSE HE INSISTED IT WOULD "HELP WITH YOUR STORY". Well fuck you too, my friend. I need to sleep with my panda plushy again. And I thought I was sadistic.


	13. Sweet Nightmares With Sour Dreams

_"We all are living in a dream,_  
_But life ain't what it seems_  
_Oh everything's a mess_  
_And all these sorrows I have seen_  
_They lead me to believe_  
_That everything's a mess_  
_But I wanna dream_  
_I wanna dream_  
_Leave me to dream."_

[Dream | Imagine Dragons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCSX3mM6940)

* * *

William took another sip of his tea, watching his friend jump around her home like an excited bunny. Her shooting star sweater made her look more like a shooting star than ever before and it made Will crack a small smile. Even if that smile seemed a little strained. 

"Of course, the movie itself wasn't so bad," Will drawled on, placing his cup in its little saucer. "I loved it, actually! Didn't help that the psycho was Bill. Nice touch, am I right, Shooting Star, or am I right?"

"You're right," Mabel laughed, twirling around like a graceful ballerina to face the cupboard full of cups and plates. She opened it up, taking a mug for herself and a plate, placing it down on the counter beneath the cupboard. Mabel was playing around in her kitchen now, seeming to look for something that she couldn't see. Will merely watched her with an impartial look. 

"So, moving on from the details that I know you'd just _love_ to hear about later," Will carried on, smirking to himself when Mabel made a face. None of them had forgotten the day they watched that horrid movie. In which, of course, Mabel had fainted at. 

"Ugh. Save me from the deets, William," Mabel complained. She dropped a small spoon into her cup with a pitched clang. "Just tell me what happened! Tell meee!"

"Alright, alright, I'm getting there, yeesh!" Will huffed. He rolled his eyes when Mabel squeaked out a "Yay!", leaning back against his bean bag and submerging half his body in the fluff of the bag. He reached over, straining his muscles to place his saucer and cup to the coffee table set out before him. Will leaned back into the bean bag with a sigh escaping his lips. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose to massage it carefully, Will said, "Your Grunkles quarreled like a bunch of five year olds, kid."

Mabel snorted, slapping a hand over her mouth in a feeble attempt to stifle her snickers. Her eyes kept searching for something beyond her reach, but they sparkled in a way that made Will think that she was looking for the item half consciously. "Quarreled," Mabel snickered. "What are you William, a seventy year old grandpa?"

"I basically gave you a mental image of two old men fighting like toddlers, and _that's_ what you laugh about?" Will asked her in disbelief. How was that in any way _funny?_

"Well, it's just weird hearing you sound like a proper adult, B- Will," Mabel chortled. "You always seem like a five year old who throws tantrums to me than a intergalactic demon who can literally poof me out of existence for good."

"A five year old?" Will echoed, dropping his hand away from his nose. He made a confused look straight at the brunette. They were literally past that stage of saying "No offence" because everything was offensive and it was beautiful. Eh, most of the time. 

"Yes, a five year old!" Mabel confirmed with a grin. She finally found what she was looking for, which was some sugar cubes in a container. Will wanted to tell her that she simply could have imagined them in front of her, but held his tongue. "You throw fits when you don't get what you want, you literally refuse to sleep when people tell you to but you sleep from night to noon, and you want to eat chocolate for breakfast. Except the only difference is that you actually _do_ have chocolate for breakfast and you're in a body of a full grown adult."

At her own words, Mabel glanced out of him in the corner of her eye. She sniffed for dramatic effect, turning back to the counter to turn on her coffee machine. "Scratch the last statement, you look like a child sitting like that."

"Wha-" William looked down at himself on impulse, seeing that he was sitting with his legs crossed like a kindergartner, body tilted forward and basically looking like a preschooler listening to stories. Well, if preschoolers drank coffee and tea, anyway. Will looked back up, scowling at his friend.

"Why is it that you always interrupt me when I'm speaking?" he said, disgruntled. 

"One, your stories are boringer than Dip-" 

"That's not even a word!"

"-per's. Two, I was born this way," Mabel continued, blankly ignoring him as she posed a supermodel pose for effect. Will bit back a snicker. 

"Three, you literally cannot punish me."

Will pondered over this for a moment. "Well," he grumbled, "you have a point. But are you going to allow me to talk or what?"

"Oh, I already know what happens," Mabel hummed, leaning her elbows against the counter. Waddles, her faithful chubby pig even through the afterlife, oinked and curled himself around her ankles like a cat. "Dipper got scared, he buried his face in Damon's shoulder, you got jealous, you yelled and 'accidentally' proposed your love to him, he cried tears of joy, he ran over to you, and the two of you got married. The end!"

Will merely blinked at his friend. Uncrossing his legs, he reached over to the side to retrieve his cup of tea. He took one good long sip to hide his surprise, Mabel humming to herself as she watched the coffee machine hiss and groan like some Frankenstein monster. 

"You know if that actually happened, I would have told you three hours ago while bouncing like a puppy than spending those hours stalling by playing dress up with you?" Will told her bluntly. 

"Eh, good point," she said with a shrug. Mabel turned her head over to him, a grin still plastered messily on her face like she won the Superbowl. "So, what made you want to play dress up than actually tell me what happened, dude?"

"First, you gotta tell me why you're so bouncy and...Mabel-y more than usual," Will drawled. 

"Mabel-y. I like that," Mabel grinned. But then her grin widened, and it was starting to seriously freak Will out of all people. He never lied when he told himself that Mabel was the freakiest girl he knew and having her rule the world would be worst than _him,_ and that was already saying a lot. 

When Will gestured at her to continue, Mabel snapped out of her seemingly dazed dream. "Oh! Right. Huh," she blinked, a dreamy smile on her face. Her body slumped over, seeming more relaxed than Will had ever seen her. It was a weird thing to witness, but he didn't mind. "Will, did I ever tell you that I wrote fanfictions between the two of you?"

"Uh, yes, surprisingly," Will said, slowly lifting an eyebrow. Is Mabel on drugs or...?

"And did I tell you that I ship the two of you harder than FedEx?"

"Yes," Will sighed. Again, why was international shipping being brought up to this conversation?

"So you know that the fact that my brother is dating someone else other than you completely pisses me off, right?" Her voice was tinged with a cheeriness, despite her word choices. 

"Yes...?" _Well, you're not the only one,_ he grumbled. 

"So you know that the fact that you respected that and didn't kiss him made me swoon, right?"

Will almost spat out his drink.

Just kidding, he really did spit out his drink. Tea was spewed everywhere, despite his morals against rude manners like this. He sputtered, coughing and hacking behind a fist, red in the face from the amount of coughing he was currently doing. 

"How- how did you know- I- that I- you- you weren't-" Will sputtered, lifting his head to her when his coughing was beginning to die down. Slowly, he dropped his fist away from his lips, half certain that he wouldn't start coughing all over again like some elderly guy from the side of the street. 

Mabel laughed at his surprise, turning off the coffee machine. Eyes back down to the counter instead of William, she simply told him, "I was there. I watched you."

"You're a complete and utter liar, you know that, kid?" Will scowled. "There is no way in freezing hell you could have-"

"-been there?" Mabel guessed. She shook her head, but there was no impatience in her eyes. Just some sort of glee that reminded William of his days during Weirdmageddon. The complete feeling of control over everything and everyone. It was bound to happen to a girl like Mabel one day.

"You didn't see me because I was just a stupid ghost, dude," Mabel explained, not once turning her head to look at him. She was preparing her coffee, casual like she wasn't explaining to him something he was sure that only he knew about. "After that mindscape trip we did, I barely could project myself back to the real world again, but I could still see what's happening. Just uh, barely."

She thought about her word choices for a moment, letting a silent moment pass. "The words coming from you guys sounded like you were underwater. I could barely see what was happening because everything was so blurry. But I still could tell what was happening and I'm glad you walked away, Will."

William stiffened. The events as to what happened the night before were things he fought to forget. Did she also mean that she knew about the knife thing? God, what if she knew about-?

"Thank you," Mabel suddenly said. Her head tipped up, looking over to him. Eyes soft and grateful, she whispered again, "Thank you."

"For what?" Will's lips curled down in a small frown of confusion. 

"For acting human."

Will blinked at her. Human. That was the only singular word that would have made Bill Cipher angry, enough for him to throw a tantrum and curse the person into hell for all of eternity for calling him that one word. But now the word became a compliment, despite his confusion. It somehow...warmed him inside. 

"You didn't kiss him because he was dating someone else, not just because you thought you lost him," Mabel continued. She inclined her head to the side. "You love him so much that you'd rather kiss him by his consent than to have it stolen. That makes you human."

Her words left a scorching mark in his heart, unintentionally or not. His throat closed up, breathing laboring and lungs feeling like they were on fire in his own chest. He felt like he was suffocating in his own wallowing world, and he _hated_ it. He hated loving Dipper. He hated loving a person he knew would most likely see him as just a friend than anything else. He hated everything about staying in the same room as that person, but somehow he loved it at the same time.

He loved him, more than anything in the world, and that terrified him more than losing his humanity.

"He isn't worth it," Will muttered under his breath. He could feel the bean bag digging him in, drawing him into the bag like the worthless man he was. 

"What?" Mabel's brow knitted, watching him closely like he was about to break. Maybe he was. He didn't know. Ever since he lost his magic and lost _him,_ he didn't know much of anything any more. He didn't even know what he was supposed to do in the morning, now that he got his one and only answer that for once he didn't want to hear. 

"I'm leaving Gravity Falls first thing in the morning," Will continued, ignoring Mabel's yelp of surprise. "Maybe I just do what I did best, right? Whore around and try and test my luck. It's better than sitting around than do nothing in that stupid Shack."

"Will!" Mabel scolded. "You are definitely _not_ leaving that Shack. You're going to stay put and try-"

"-what? Try _what,_ Mabel?" Will snapped. He barked out a humorless laugh, one that sounded eerily similar to Bill's. It made Mabel cringe back, eyes flashing with an emotion that basically confirmed to him that she was thinking the same thing about his little laughter. "Dipper's happy. He's with someone he likes and I can't just force those feelings out of him, can I? For the love of everything above, I want to believe that I have a chance with him, but I _don't._ I don't, Mabel, and I have to leave before I waste any more time."

"He loves you!" Mabel cried out, picking up her mug and twisting her body over to him, a look of anguish on her pretty face. "I know he does!"

She took a sip of her coffee, walking over to him and letting a purple bean bag appear right across from him. She sat down on it, smacking her lips together and giving him a shrewd smile. "He just doesn't know it yet."

Will huffed, closing his eyes briefly before he lost control over himself. How do humans do it? How do humans live with the fact that they may not live the greatest of lives and meet their soulmate, but carry on without a care in the world? If every demon did that, the world would be in goddamn turmoil!

"I have to leave," he repeated slowly, eyes still shut. He heard Mabel shifting in her beanbag. "There is no way in hell I can make him turn his back from Damon to me in less than a couple months. He's a lost cause, Mabel. I'm sorry, but I have to-"

"But you have to try!" Mabel begged. He forced his eyes to wrench back open, looking at her with a stoic look. Mabel stared back at him with large, hopeful eyes. Eyes identical to Dipper's. It took everything he had to not squeeze his eyes back shut, to hope that all of this was just a nightmare. 

"William, just try and show him that you love him more than shriveled goat dick ever could, and he'd love you back. I just know it," Mabel announced proudly. 

Will puffed out a weak laugh. "Did you just take my insult?"

"Mabel knows best," Mabel chirped. "And anyway, a few months is more than enough. It only took you and Dipper less than four weeks to get it on."

"He wasn't dating anyone back then," Will shrugged. Not to mention he totally rushed their relationship and manipulated the human to do so- you know, to get things moving.

"Yeah he was."

Will's eyes widened, heart jumping in his chest. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah, he was dating to this thing called his bed. They were engaged, last I heard."

Will grumbled under his breath, leaning back down to his beanbag from the false alarm. He crossed his arms tightly, crossing his legs as well with narrowed eyes. Mabel, on the other hand, simply laughed at his childish reaction, nearly spilling coffee onto Waddles's head as he waddled back over to her side to sleep. "Very funny, Shooting Star."

"Yeah, Mabel's the man," Mabel whooped. She flexed her non-existent muscles. "And Mabel the Man wants Will the Wimp to gather his bloody squishy guts from the floor and try and make Dipper fall in love with him all over again."

"That sounded very sadistic, to be quite honest with you."

"I know right!" Mabel exclaimed. "I should just replace you as the psycho triangle resident of Gravity Falls, because Bill the Bullshitter was replaced by Will the Wimp."

Will resisted the urge to huff out another sigh. "Mabel, you know I can't. It's impossible!"

"Impossible my fucking ass!" Mabel said, rolling her eyes. "Look at _me,_ I managed to nab a hot ass girlfriend when I didn't even know she was into girls until I just went for it!"

"You're scaring me, kid," Will admitted. "Why are you acting like I personally offended you? Sheesh."

"Because you did! Dude, just date my stupid nerdy brother!" Mabel told him. To avoid more spillage than there already was, she placed her mug on the floor beside her, which happened to be Waddles's back. The white mug raised up and down with the pig's breathing. 

"It's not that easy!" Will argued. "I'd have to take him out on dates. I'd have to bring him flowers and gifts and deer teeth. You think none of them would catch on? You think Dipper would like that someone living in his house was hitting on him while he was dating someone else?"

"Then don't do that! Ask him to show you around the mall. Hang out with him just for the sake of guy time, if that even exists. It doesn't matter if someone else tails between you guys, as long as you're with him. The more he realizes how much better you are, he'll dump Damon's ass faster than he'd dump my earwax collection of American presidents into the back-alley," Mabel told him. 

"I- I can't," Will said weakly. He hated how feeble he sounded. He hated how much emotion he was showing Mabel, and he didn't even tell her the news yet. 

"Yes, you can! If he shows you around Gravity Falls and he realizes how in love you are with the town as much as you are with him, he'll swoon and totally catch feelings for _you._ He's scared, Will, that's why he's dating that greaser wannabe. Show him how much you care about Gravity Falls and-"

"I DON'T WANT TO STAY IN THIS STUPID TOWN!" Will bellowed, sitting upright in his beanbag. It shifted underneath him, almost shriveling up to his anger. "I _can't_ stay! Don't you see how many places here remind me of times with _him?!_ Do you even realize how many times I had to force my legs to keep going because one particular spot or place in this damn town made me think of _him,_ of us?!"

He took a deep breath through his nose, then out of it. Mabel watched him mutely, mouth shut tightly with her hands folded on her lap. For a moment, she seemed more like her brother than herself. Serious, intelligent eyes, stern. It made his throat close up. 

"Do you even realize how many times I had to remind myself that they were just memories?" Will whispered, throat scratchy with the strain to keep his emotions at bay. _"Do you?"_

"That's why you make _more_ memories, Will," Mabel consoled, voice soft and quiet. She looked like she wanted to reach out and hug him. "Dipper's already warming up to you. It won't be long before he-"

"I can't stay in Gravity Falls," Will repeated, "because it reminds me of things I shouldn't remember."

"Like what?" Mabel frowned.

Will suddenly found it harder to breathe. He couldn't tell her. He just _can't._ Not with the way she was looking at him, soft and warm, like a mother trying to comfort a child. 

God, why was it so  _difficult_ being a stupid human with feelings?!

"Mabel," he whispered, voice almost too quiet in his ears. It shook, even to him. "Mabel, I'm so so so sorry."

"Will, what happened?" she asked him, frown deepening. She looked more like a mother now, sitting with her hands folded on her lap and back straight as she listened to Will. Why couldn't she have been a mother to her kids too? Why did she choose to let a stupid demon live than herself to live with kids who needed her now, more than ever?

" _Your kids,_ " he finally, _finally_ said. His words drowned in his own ears. "Gods, they-"

"I know," she said quietly. A brief flash of pain struck through her eyes like a roll of a thunderstorm, but it was gone like the one strike of lightning hitting the earth. "I know, Will."

"Mabel, I told you I'd protect them, I told you I would, but I-" Will babbled on, tears blurring his eyes. 

A soft hand laid on his knee, giving it a squeeze of reassurance. Mabel smiled up at him, and it seemed as genuine as her love for her kids. Though his heart was still pounding in his chest, he was beginning to relax. He didn't know what he would have done if Mabel didn't reassure him like this. His emotions, the more he stayed in this stupid human body, was beginning to go haywire. A demon would never cry, given any circumstance. But the demon status was ripped from his own chest by now, hasn't it?

"And I know you still are," Mabel answered, voice confident. "You're still protecting me, so why would my angels be any different?"

Will blinked, back straightening out. He thought he heard himself sniff. "Souls like theirs would be so, so hard to guide, Mabel," he told her gently. 

"I don't care," Mabel said breezily. "You're a stupid dream demon, Will. And plus, if you leave Gravity Falls, who would be there to protect my family?"

"The unicorn magic," he said bluntly.

She rolled her eyes at him, retracting her hand away from his knee. "You know what I mean. You're like the best bodyguard ever, Will. I trust you!"

Will simply blinked. "Y- you trust me?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Well, _duh!_ You're my friend, Will! And friends don't let friends give up on their dreams. Even if their dream is to fuck my brother."

Will barked out a laugh. One that was actually genuine to the bone. "A couple months, then the deal ends," he stated. "There's no point in going back to Dipper by now, Mabel. I'll still be there to protect your family if anything else like that ever happens again, but I have to try someone new. Someone who isn't-"

"Oh for the love of-" Mabel complained, burying her face in her hands. She let out a breathy sigh, looking extremely frustrated with Will. She raised her head over to him, glaring with an intensity that made him raise his hands up to his chest on instinct.

Without a word, she stood up, grabbing Will by the shoulders and standing him up as well. Her nails dug into his skin, making him almost cry out in protest. Not from the pain, but from how demanding she was as she steered them away from her kitchen and living room.

"Wha-? Hey, now you just wait one moment, Shooting Star, I-!" he argued. 

When she flung open the door to her bedroom, it was definitely not a bedroom it was opened to. But a long, dark hallway that made Will close his mouth in an instant. 

"Why are we in your memories?" he asked in mild shock, hands slipping away from his shoulders. 

For the past two years, Will had always asked Mabel to see her memories. For the hell of it, for the fun. He was always curious anyway. But the girl had always refused him, telling him that her memories were too private. Respecting her wishes, Will had stayed out of this section of her paradise for the longest of times. 

But here they were, walking down every emotion, every raw feeling.

Mabel stayed close behind him while Will walked down the dark hallway in a trance, looking at every memory like the greedy man he was. He didn't know why he was so interested in this lone mindscape, or why he was so curious in the first place. By Gods, there was nothing exactly interesting in this stupid place, other than typical teenaged girl memories. 

But even with that in mind, he found himself looking at every door with an intense gaze. 

Sharing ice cream with Pacifica. Knitting sweaters with a boy band song playing in the background. Water balloon fights with her best friends. Fixing a control panel with Soos. Hanging out with Wendy. Supporting her Grunkle Stan and massaging him after a long day at the Shack. Learning the basics of Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons with her Grunkle Ford. But for the life of him, there was not a single memory of Dipper Pines in her memories. 

For a panicked moment, Will began to wonder if Mabel had forgotten about her brother as well. He opened his mouth to speak, to ask her if she even _remembered_ that the Dipper she was talking about was her other half, but Mabel herself had beaten him to it. 

"Don't worry, I have tons of memories of him," Mabel assured him. "They're not just here for some reason."

"Huh." Will's brow furrowed. He walked a little faster down her memories, looking at every one. Her memories, as he had suspected, were normal ones that should belong to a happy, loving girl. Best friend sleep overs, silent date nights, family bonding. Things he never really got to have. 

"Why...why are you showing me your memories?" Will strained out. His voice, for the life of him, sounded hoarse and croaky, like he spent an hour crying. That statement wasn't far behind from the truth, but he hated sounded so fragile. 

"Hmm. Reason one," she sang out, a hand placing itself on his shoulder. Thankfully, he saw it coming, keeping himself relaxed under her touch. She steered them to a corner of her hallway, presenting more happy memories of herself. But these memories, instead of the ones behind which showed her smiling and laughing with different people, showed only herself.

Mabel alone on a swing at a park in Gravity Falls. Mabel on top of the mountain, taking pictures and admiring the view. Mabel taking a casual walk down the town at midnight. Things that captured the beauty of Gravity Falls, and Mabel was the only one who truly appreciated it. 

"To show you how awesome this 'stupid' town is," Mabel announced, now walking along side him. 

There was a stupid grin on her face, wide and joyful, as she took his hand and sped them down the dusty hallway, memories blurring by his face. Will didn't even complain. What was the use, anyway? Mabel was a stubborn girl. 

They sped down corners, forks, out of order hallways (do those even exist?), and even memories themselves. Will could barely catch up with every vision he saw, mouth glued shut and stuck to his jaws. Hair whipped around himself, brushing away from his eyes. 

When they stopped, breathing labored from his lack of human exercise (even in stupid mindscapes, there was no return from exercise), Will was forced to look at a whole new hallway, one that was brightly colored and clearly more cherished. 

Hands clamped themselves onto his shoulders, squeezing them. Will was glad Mabel was holding on to him, or else he would have crashed to the ground, the breath being knocked out of him. He didn't know which emotion to feel anymore. Jeez, it was easier being a demon than a human with conflicted emotions. 

"Two," Mabel stated proudly, a hand reaching over to be propped underneath his chin, forcing him to look back up at the doors opened just for him. Will bit down on the inside of his cheek to the point that he could feel the rawness of blood presenting itself on his tongue. "To show you _why_ this stupid town is so awesome."

Dipper. Dipper Pines.

The name was plastered onto every single memory. Every single one. 

Dipper laughing. Dipper smiling. Dipper doing what he loved most. Dipper playing around and acting like the kid he never got to be. Dipper being Dipper and Will couldn't help but crack a lopsided smile of his own.

But with Dipper in these memories, there was also Bill. In every single one, like Dipper and Bill were to never be separated. 

Dipper and Bill cuddling on the couch as Mabel drew mustaches on them. The couple fighting over the pancakes in the morning while Mabel sipped on her morning juice. Dipper and Bill watching a Rom-Com intensely, arms curled around each other ever so naturally, while Mabel watched on, hoping for their love to stay exactly like that. It was just them against the world and Will wondered why he ever doubted that Dipper had never loved him. 

"You want him back, don't you?" Mabel whispered. 

Will had to stop himself from stiffening and freezing right on the spot. Her words, uncannily similar to the words of the voice in his head, made him feel trapped. 

Of course he wanted Dipper back. Of course he wanted more memories of Dipper for his own and for others, just so that they would live on through more than two people. Of course he wanted Dipper to love him back, of course, of course, _of course._

But he can't and he won't. 

"Will, stay in Gravity Falls and _try,_ " Mabel begged of him, turning his body around so he could face her. Mabel's hands placed themselves on his shoulders, keeping him anchored in place with both her strength and the pleading in her eyes. 

"One month," Mabel continued, her voice overlapping the laughter and words from the memories beyond their reach. "One month, Will. In exactly one month I'm going to come up to you and ask if you still think he's a lost cause and if you still think he is, then so be it. Go back to New York City and become a stripper, I don't care. Just try for one month and I'll show you how easily Dipper will unravel with you."

"You seriously think it would be that easy?" Will asked with a bitter tone in his mouth. He looked to the side of Mabel's face, watching a memory where Dipper was reading a book with Bill under a tree, a content smile he had never seen on the boy's face. 

Any kind of worry he had felt in that moment, any kind of bashed self-worth, washed away looking at Dipper look so at ease with _him,_ of all people. 

And he couldn't help but step to the side, slowly making his way to that one particular door. Mabel didn't stop him, simply stepping off to the side to allow him space to get through. Then she crossed her arms over her chest, pivoting on a heel to watch him. Her face betrayed no emotion Will could detect. 

"Maybe if I could just..." Will mumbled, his hand slowly lifting to the opened door, as if it was enticing him inside. "You know...one moment and I could..."

He gulped, hand stilling over the blanket of memory, an inch away from it. He could _feel_ the summer heat fanning his face from the memory to here. Just one step, just one moment to live the moment again and he'd be happy. Satisfied....

Will glanced over at Mabel. After all, it was _her_ memory, not his. 

But instead of the look of disapproval he was waiting for, he got a look of contented empathy. A small smile, a sparkle in her eyes. Then she nodded, a small bob of the head that barely showed. 

Of all people, Mabel Pines knew most about missing someone who was so close, but so goddamn far. 

Will shook the insecurities out of his head, turning his eyes back to the door. Dipper and Bill were wrestling under the tree, fighting for the book Dipper was reading, while Mabel whooped and hollered for them to fight it out in the background like the girl she was. 

He knew exactly how it was going to play out. Dipper and Bill would be left breathless with the brunet underneath the blond, the book abandoned in Dipper's hand by his side while Bill pinned his arms. They'd look at each other, then at their lips, then back to their eyes and Bill would lean down, planting a long loving kiss on Dipper's lonely pair of lips. He wanted to live that moment again, even if it was just an illusion of the mind. 

But Will pulled back his hand. Sighing, he stuffed both hands into his pockets, fingers curling into balls of fists inside the pockets to keep them from shaking. He turned to look at Mabel. 

He gave her a small sheepish smile at her shell-shocked look of surprise. "Your memories are not mine, Shooting Star. Let's go back to your kitchen and make some blueberry pancakes, hmm?"

Mabel clenched her jaw right back up, giving him a look a parent would give to a child who broke a vase. "Bill Cipher, you enter that memory right this instant so I could laugh at your pain!" she scolded. 

Will laughed under his breath. He stalked over to her side, about to walk right past her if she didn't hold him by the waist, forcing him back. Will stumbled at her force, giving her a weird look. "Hey, what the hell! I say we make your favorite breakfast food in the entire world and this is how you repay me?!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Mabel huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Go! Go before I punch you in the teeth and force you there myself!"

"Mabel Pines, you are definitely  _something_ , you know that?" Will sighed. He shook his head, almost sadly. He locked eyes with her, raising an eyebrow. "I can't live on memories, kid. It'll become a drug. I'll get addicted and I'll forget how exactly the real Dipper acts. So, please. Can we just go?"

Mabel, at his words, looked at him in pity. Her eyes softened and she took his hand in hers. Slowly, like honey on a wall, the doors and hallways melted away into nothingness, leaving them back in the kitchen.

The brunette let go of his hand in an instant, dizzily walking over to her long pink sofa and dropping down on it. "Woo. Remind me not to do that kind of thing ever again," she heaved, placing a hand on top of her head. Her eyes became unfocused and cloudy. 

Laughing, William walked over and plopped himself beside her, bringing his ankle up to his knee. "Take a break for a while. It happens to every person," he told her. 

"Every person with magic, you mean. I don't think Toby Determined would feel like his head was splitting open because he made a whole section of his mindscape disappear," she complained. 

"Good point." Will looked around the living room Mabel had created, watching Waddles oink and play with a ball of yarn like a little kitten on the floor. He wondered if the pig would get along with Chip, and settled with the thought that they would team up to drive his dog out of the house. The thought alone made him chuckle, causing Mabel to look at him weirdly.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked in curiosity. 

"Just some memories about your little gremlin here," Will replied, nodding at Waddles on the carpet. "That pig annoyed the hell out of me some mornings but mostly I'm glad for him. I would have never woken up from my naps and have to face Dipper's wrath for it."

Mabel giggled, bringing her knees up to her chest. She looked a little pale and sick, but her magic burn out was starting to wear off. "Memories, huh?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, you're a human now," Mabel told him bluntly. "Don't you have a mindscape of your own?"

Will stiffened. Then he forced himself to relax and let out a little laugh of disbelief, letting her believe things he wanted her to believe. "Yeah, sure. I'm a dream demon, kid. I can't have mindscapes even with a human mind."

"You sure about that?" Mabel asked, turning her head over to him. There was a playful smile on her lips, like she knew something he didn't. Will was beginning to think she truly did know something he didn't. "While it's true you're a demon, a mindscape would manifest in any brain or lower class demon. It's customary because if you don't, you can't have memories or anywhere to store personality, preference, or knowledge."

Will simply squinted at her. "You did your research."

"Duh!" she said, offended by the fact that Will would think less of her. "Now, let's see your memories!"

"What? No!" he sputtered, heart hammering in his chest.

"I know you don't like living off memories, but I think it would be kind of therapeutic if we went to your human mindscape and, you know...look at _your_ memories with Dipper? Don't cha think?" Mabel asked him, a little confused by his sudden panic. 

"Well, I mean- sure, but not today, Mabel, I think we can call it a night and-" Will said rapidly, words flying out of his mouth faster than he could catch up. 

"Oh, pffft," Mabel cut off with a roll of her eyes. "It's four AM in the real world. Chill, dude. We got time on our side this time. Heh, see what I did there? Time on our side this _time._ "

Will wondered how his cheek could stay intact inside his mouth, even after all the the biting down and chewing he was doing. "Mabel, we can't. We're not-"

"And why not?" she demanded. 

Fed up with this conversation, he answered. "Because," he said slowly, "I may become insane."

"Insane? Like metaphorically or actually-?" she said in confusion. 

"Insane," he confirmed. "Insane like Old Man McGucket."

Mabel winced. "Oh," she said with a hint of pity. "Right. That's a very bad thing. We don't want you becoming a deranged hillbilly, now do we? Unless, Dipper is into those, of course," she snickered. 

Will chose not to respond to her. He kept watching Waddles sleep on the ground instead, the ball of yarn abandoned by the pig's side. 

Mabel frowned at him. "C'mon, Will," she pleaded. "Let's just take one more trip down memory lane, just one little memory and we could move on, okay? You told me that you didn't want to look at that memory deeper because it was mine, so here's your chance to look at yours!"

"I don't even have enough energy to get there," he lied.

"So? Let's go!" she exclaimed. Without asking him, she took hold of his wrists, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration. One hand slipped away from her wrist to be placed onto his forehead, startling him half to death. 

"No, wait, we have to talk about this first you non-consented little-!" he yelped. 

The world swallowed him whole, squishing him into the ground with Mabel like some sort of trash compactor. He couldn't even yell out if he wanted to. His whole body ached, feeling like he was having a rug burn all over his body. Not enough to feel like he was on fire, but enough that the pain was definitely there. 

When he opened his eyes and his vision adjusted to the black and white grey-ish hue of his mindscape, the first thing he saw was Mabel, looking at his mindscape in complete shock. He couldn't determine if her shock was from disappointment or awe. By this point, he was too afraid to ask. 

"Christ, William," she breathed, stepping background. 

Will looked around to what she was seeing all around her. And already knowing what his own mindscape would look like, he didn't even blink. 

A gray void, a space full of nothing but grey. The place smelled a little bit like vinegar, giving the place a horror movie feel more than before. There was absolutely nothing within fifty meters, but a void. While even the most narrow-minded person on Earth could have a remotely designed mindscape, his was just a plain simple one bare of any hobbies or interests that might give him away. 

"What even happened here? Did you make it like this or something?" Mabel asked, bewildered. She walked forward, almost meekly like something would pop up and scare her, but nothing did. 

Will gave her a bittersweet smile. "No one chooses their mindscape, my friend. Not even you. It is completely up to your personality and what you love and who you are," Will told her. He looked away from her. "Sadly, my mindscape can't decide long enough what it would look like, so it just represented itself in it's basic form."

"So this is what mindscapes look like when someone's boring?" Mabel asked him, almost skeptical of the place around her. 

"The person would have to be very boring, but yeah," Will answered nonchalantly. He stretched his back. "It's the basic format. I didn't design it myself but if I did, I would have gone with a lighter gray."

"Where are your memories?" she whispered. She looked around, as if expecting them to appear out of nowhere.

Just to get her off his back, Will rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, causing a lone door to appear right in front of the brunette. Mabel yelped, stepping backward at the appearance of the door. It caused Will to chuckle at her incompetence, walking up beside her to see which memory would appear first.

It was one of him first appearing out of his bubble, where he was washing his face with water and realizing that he was not exactly the triangle demon projectile he used. 

Right. Will bit down on his lower lip. With a mortal mindscape, this place could only hold memories from his time as a human. He didn't know if he liked that or not. He definitely didn't want to accidentally reveal secrets from the past to Mabel (even if she was dead and not able to share it with the world), but at the same time he wanted to watch his fight in the first world war, sending chaos in both directions to keep this wonderful war going.

"Whoa!" Mabel yelped, almost running into Will's side as another appeared beside them, opening up to reveal another memory. This one was recent, in which he was at a bar in Kansas, hitting on a drunk girl.

He cringed at the vision of him mercilessly sliding his hands down her skirt with lustful eyes of his own. Those hands should be on Dipper, not this disgusting girl. 

"Damn, Will," she whistled, pointing at another memory appearing above the one they were looking at. This one was when he was in Wyoming, holding back three of his one night stands meeting in one place and arguing that they were with him. The person holding them back looked tired, not even bothering on corrected any of them.

Another with him making out with a college football player in Mississippi. Having sex in the backseat of a car in Minnesota. Hitting on a florist with flowers he picked in Kentucky. Teaching a bartender in Colorado some sexual German phrases. Things he should have done with _Dipper,_ not them. 

And finally, like his stupid mindscape knew that he no longer wanted to review his memories of past relationships (can he even call them that?) gone sour, the doors shut, disappeared, and opened up again with fresh one. With Dipper in every single door. 

But, he realized with his heart plummeting to his stomach, that they had never happened. Yet. 

His whole body hummed and felt frozen in the very core at the very same time as he watched every memory with flickering eyes to each one. Bringing two lovely kids to the park while they ate ice cream. Going to the amusement park to celebrate their fourth anniversary. Watching shooting stars streak the sky while they made wishes. 

Proposing to Dipper in an empty park on a Tuesday, the sounds of laughing kids with a woman laughing with them sounding through the wind whistling in his ears. 

Seeing Dipper on the altar right beside himself, smiling at each other while they exchanged vows.

The voices in his head had already shown them half these visions. It didn't faze him, not in the least, not anymore, until he realized that they came from doors of memories, not visions of his own imagination. 

And instead of being felt with joy and happiness, the pit of his stomach burned with rage, heartsickness, and sadness. It was used as fuel for him to turn around and walk away into nothingness, just so he could get away from those...those _things._

"Wha-? Will! What are you doing?" Mabel called out. She sounded happy, believing those memories as he did the first time. She must have known too that dream demons like him could have memories of the future too, in which they are ninety-eight percent accurate. 

"Will, aren't you happy about this? This means you're going to end up with him! Bro, dude, what the _hell,_ come back over here and hug your sister-in-law, jeez!" she huffed, her voice echoing through the empty barriers of his mindscape. Her echoes mixed in with the ones coming from the open doors. 

Will simply brushed her off, feeling the cold feeling in his throat climb down to his heart, clinging onto him and grasping onto his chest like a parasite. It spread like wildfire, holding him down, choking him to death with the thoughts that were bound to slither into his mind one way or another from coming into this mindscape for the second time in a span of two years. 

"Will!"

He did not respond. 

He walked away because he was angry with himself. At himself, at the world, at Mabel, at Dipper, at Damon, at everyone and anyone he knew. And that made him more of a coward than he already was, walking away from those lies and not telling his best friend of secrets he could not bare himself. 

He had no heart. He had no heart to tell her why he was so disappointed looking at those 'memories' she was swooning for. 

He had no heart to tell her that they were fake, a _lie,_  and were just simply a way for him to cope.

The real future visions were behind closed doors, ones that were glued shut and chained, clawed and burned like someone had tried to rip down out, no matter how many times memories like those could not be discarded.

Will simply had nothing in him to tell her about what he saw.

Not anymore.

Because Will would not end up on that altar with Dipper, but Damon.


	14. Curiosity Murdered The Mutt

_"An empty room,_  
_I'm empty too_  
_And everything reminds me of you_  
_So many things_  
_I shouldn't have missed_  
_The more that I push_  
_And the more you resist_  
_It's easy to say it's for the best_  
_When you want more_  
_While you leave me with less_  
_I know you're fine, but what do I do?_  
_I'm awake, and trying_  
_While you're sleeping like a babe_  
_Beside him."_

**[Fallout | Marianas Trench](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvnP6BmQvEk) **

* * *

"-umpty Dumpty sat on a wall!"

"Humpty Trumpy had a great- um, ball!"

A man laughed. "No, no . It's not _trumpy,_ it's _dumpty._ Go again. Your brother can start first."

"YAY!" whooped a small voice. Will stirred in his sleep, his eyes still feeling like weights on his face. So he kept them shut, lazily placing an arm over his eyes. He hated traveling through mindscapes by accident like this, especially if it was a toddler's mind. 

"Humpty Drumpty sat on a wall, he had a great fall!" sang out the same voice. 

Again, the man laughed. Will felt himself shift a little in his sleep, brows knitting together in slight confusion. The laugh sounded extremely...pleasing. "No!" he laughed, his voice somehow calming and scolding at the same time. Will wondered if the man was a teacher and these kids were his troublesome students. Yeah, that could make sense. Teachers always had the most luminous dreams. "Since you're only young and you can only speak three hundred words so far, I'll let this slid, huh? Your turn!"

"Uh- um-" stammered a little girl. 

"It's okay," soothed the older man. Will could hear the guy shifting, causing his bed to dip just a little. He almost let a groan escape his lips. Stupid mindscapes and their dizzying effects. 

"Here, I'll sing with you. Would that make you feel better?" 

"Mhm!" The girl suddenly sounded excited. 

" _Humpty dumpty sat on the wall_ ," the man sang. The child joined in. " _Humpty dumpty had a great fall! All the king's horses, and all the king's men-_ " 

"WOO!" screamed the boy, joining in with his sister and his teacher. 

_"-couldn't put humpty dumpty back together!"_

Together, the three voices laughed, much to Will's annoyance. He wanted to sit upright and snap at them to shut up before he snaps their necks, but of course, he couldn't do that. For one, his head felt like it was being submerged in the Mariana Trench, and secondly- mindscapes don't cause his leg to be shaken up and down like a rag doll. 

"Whoa whoa whoa!" the man yelped. Suddenly, the little chubby fingers around Will's right ankle disappeared. He let a groan escape his lips this time when a fresh wave of nausea hit him like a semi-truck. "Don't do that, you'll wake him up!" he scolded. 

"Exactly! We want Will!" the boy shouted. The girl joined in with his chanting. "We want Will! We want Will! We want Wi-!" Their voices were muffled and Will could only guess that the guy put his hands over their mouths to shut them up. 

"Guys! I let you in here because he's been sleeping like a rock for the whole day, but that doesn't mean he's in a coma!" the man hissed. _A coma would be nice right now,_ William thought.

"But we want Will," the girl complained. "He funny!" Funny wasn't the first thing that would pop into Will's mind but hey, that works too. 

The man sighed. "I'll wake him up later, okay? He needs some sleep. It's the least I can do for him," he mumbled under his breath. Will bristled in his sleep. 

"But Uncle Dippeeeeer!" the boy groaned. He started bouncing on Will's leg again, despite the obvious attempts of the man trying to get him off. 

"Look, you're waking him up! Get off this instant!" Dipper hissed. Will's eyes moved around in their sockets, trying to crack open to finally reveal the pests in front of him. Jeez, can't a demon get some sleep? Maybe if he pretended that he simply stirred in his sleep, they would go away and he could finally get some peace in-

"Why?" the mischievous boy challenged. 

"I'm going to call your mother if you don't come here _right now._ Here, I even have her phone number ready! Five- zero- _two_ -" Dipper warned, his words slow. 

"No!" the kids shouted, their crackling voices coated in distress. The weight on Will's shin left.

"See, you guys could be good if you tried," Dipper announced in victory. "Now, let's go outside and leave William alone so we could get some ice cream from Wendy, okay? Just quietly get off the bed, then we'll be on our wa-"

A thump startled Will, his back tensing. Fuck, that sounded like a whole body was dumped to the ground. 

Which, technically, it was. 

A whimper escaped the lips of a little girl and Dipper cursed under his breath. But before Dipper could do anything whatsoever, the girl began to cry, wails sounding through the thin walls of the attic. Dipper tried to hush her as best as he could, but he sounded as distressed as the little girl was. The boy, who Will at this point believed was the brother, wailed as well, the sounds of crying toddlers echoing through his ears. Ugh.

"Oh come on, it's okay, we'll get you a band aid, just- ah- hold on-" Dipper cursed. There was a pause, probably so he could take in the situation in front of him, and Dipper sighed. "And why are _you_ crying?"

"Because Lizzy's-" the boy hiccuped. "- _crying_!" Then he wailed louder.

Oh jeez. 

"Hey, can't you just ask your sister to stop crying? All she did was fall off the be- _ow_!" Dipper yelped. "Why'd you slap me?!"

"You insulted her!" the boy snapped, sounding more adult-like than he did before. How old was this kid again? 

"I just-" Dipper groaned, probably tired of the situation in front of him. "Well, there's no point in trying to stop Will from waking up now, is there?" he asked solemnly, defeated by the children wailing by his feet. 

"Yeah!" the boy whooped. A new weight on William's bed made it sink a little. Then before he knew it, something jumped and landed itself in the middle of his stomach. And that something, of course, was the meat sack who weighed like thirty pounds of pure fat. 

Will cried out in surprise, his pitch high up on the octave list. His eyes flew open, his body sitting up right to get the mass off his stomach. "PINE TREE, I SWEAR TO GOD, I ALREADY TOLD YOU TO GET OUR KIDS OFF ME!" he bellowed. Hey, he was half asleep. There was no reason for him to realize that- well, there were a hundred things wrong with what he just said. 

" _Our_ kids?" Dipper asked in confusion. 

Will blinked, looking at him in equal confusion. " _Your_ kids?" he asked in return.

"Kids?" the brown-haired little girl drawled out, tilting her head in puzzlement. 

 _"ORION!"_ the boy cheered, pounding his chest like a gorilla as he whooped on. 

Will blinked again, eyes drifting from the softly smiling brunet to the tiny little kids on the floor. The girl was on her knees, wiping away stray tears with a black Labrador dog plushy hugged tightly to her chest. Her skinny black prosthesis was more prominent from where she was. Orion, on the other hand, was crouching next to her in a protective stance, his arms wrapped tightly around his sister now that Will had seen them. He was watching Will with a wolfish grin, his chin propped on top of his twin's head. 

He looked back up at Dipper in question. "What are Ma- Pacifica's kids doing here?" he asked, perplexed. What were they _doing_ here, of all places?

Dipper shot him a look. Will didn't understand why until he spoke, making Will curse his stupid mortal brain for not thinking. "How did you know they were Pacifica's kids?"

"I just- know," Will lied, shrugging his shoulders. Realizing that Dipper might ask more questions about it, he quickly added, "The Northwests are always on TV. So who _wouldn't_ know about them?"

Satisfied with his reply, Dipper bobbed his head in understanding. He leaned over, reaching for both of the kids. The twins quickly crawled over to him, climbing up his legs like cats and crossing their tiny legs on each of the brunet's knees. Orion even had to pull on his sister's peg to let her cross her legs, reaching over and giving it a little kiss that made Liz giggle. 

Dipper placed his hands on top of each of the kids' heads, ruffling their heads a little playfully. The twins giggled, Orion trying to bat Dipper's hand away, small dimples appearing on his chubby cheeks. His hazel eyes were sparkling with the kind of mischief that always sparked in Mabel's. It wasn't hard to believe that these kids belonged to her. Both of their smiles were contagious. 

"Anyway," Dipper continued, looking up at Will. He gave Will his sweetest smile and suddenly the force of three contagious smiles were getting hard to resist. "This little runt-" he started, ruffling Orion's hair. 

"Hey!" the boy complained. 

"-is Perseus Orion Northwest. I tried nicknaming him Percy when he got here this morning but he kicked me in the, ah...non-pleasant areas." Dipper winced at the memory. 

"Yeah, I kicked you in the balls!" Orion whooped. Liz shot him a dirty look. 

"And this sweet angel-" Dipper messed up Liz's brown hair next, who giggled and blushed at being called an angel. She even shot Orion a _I told you, I'm the better twin_ look that Will had seen on two pairs of twins already. "-is Penelope Elizabeth Northwest. I tried calling her Penny as well, but she kicked me too."

He forgot Mabel's name in there. 

"Nu!" Liz cried. She bounced in agitation on Dipper's knee, pointing an accusing finger at her brother while her other arm clutched even tighter to her stuffed dog. "It was Orion!"

Dipper rolled his eyes, lips twitching to betray his irritation. "Orion got mad that I called her the name she didn't like and kicked me twice," Dipper explained to Will. Will winced in sympathy, clicking his tongue. Dipper wrinkled his nose at him, unamused by his reaction. 

"Well, guess someone isn't having any babies soon," Will lamented in fake sympathy. Dipper snorted.

"What?!" Orion gasped. Will and Dipper turned to look at him. "No wittle brother? Nu!" he complained, words slurring as he tried to rush them out as fast he could. He writhed on Dipper's lap, the brunet grunting and holding him in place with one arm slung around the kid's stomach. 

"No, Orion, he meant-" Dipper said. 

"-I wanted a sister to murder," Liz sniffed.

Will and Dipper turned to look at her in shock. 

"She means to _help,_ " Orion corrected, giving them a toothy smile. Liz nodded eagerly. 

"Well then," Dipper drawled out, still a little wary. His eyes came back up to Will. "Sorry about waking you up, Will. They wouldn't shut up about going to your room for some reason. Orion kept telling me you wouldn't mind and Liz kept crying when I didn't let them go." He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, looking genuinely apologetic. "You're a heavy sleeper anyway. 'Thought I'd let them go for just a little bit, you know?" he added with a chuckle. 

Will yawned at the prospect of sleeping, reaching behind him to scratch his back. "No, it's alright," he assured Dipper, voice a little hoarse from sleep. "How long have I been asleep? Is it time for breakfast?"

Dipper lifted an eyebrow. "It's four in the afternoon, William."

"It's- what?" Will's eyes widened in surprise. He threw the blankets off his lap, twisting his body to place his feet on the cold wooden floor. "Why didn't you wake me up?! Aren't you a teacher? Aren't you supposed to know that oversleeping could be very bad?!" he screeched, grunting as he picked himself from the bed. He almost collapsed when his head rushed with a sudden heat wave, forcing him back down to sit. He rubbed his left temple with a knuckle, grimacing to himself. 

Dipper watched him grumble on his bed with the two kids on his knees, a weird look on his face. But concern was laced in it, with a different emotion Will couldn't identify. "Well, yes, but I thought you'd appreciate me letting you sleep in," he said dryly. 

Will growled in frustration, almost ripping his dresser knob off with the force of his pull. He pulled out a random shirt, underwear, and pants, not caring if it matched. 'Dress like you'll die today,' they say. Well, too bad. He's going to die in a green Hawaiian shirt and awfully mismatched brown cargo pants to boot. 

He reached behind himself, fingers already gripped around his collar to pull it over his head. But he hesitated, remembering what, exactly, was underneath his shirt. He loosened a breath and relaxed his muscles, turning around to face Dipper and the kids with his arms coming back down.

"Do you guys mind...?" He tilted his head, silently asking them to leave. 

To his surprise, Dipper was looking at him with an extremely red face, lips tight together and ears red to the touch. He wouldn't be surprised if he put a hand on Dipper's face and felt that the brunet was over five hundred degrees. Hell, the poor guy was rigid, back straight and hands on each side of the kids' shoulders digging in almost painfully. 

"What happened to _him_?" Will asked the kids, raising an eyebrow at the two in question. 

Liz giggled. "Uncle Dipper!" she accused, hitting said person with her stuffed dog. 

Orion grinned lopsidedly at Will, being the one who had enough self-control to actually respond to his question. "He wants to _fuck_ you!" he answered excitedly. 

"Wha-" Will began, words failing him. 

Dipper, thankfully, saved the day for him for being a stuttering confused fool. He was the one who was the fool instead. "Oh, no, Will- he- that's not what he- when he says fuck he means-" Dipper coughed into his hand, looking more than beyond flustered. Orion and Liz gave each other matching looks of mischief, giggling when Dipper coughed again. "He just- fuck means frog to him so-"

"So he thinks you want to _frog_ me?" Will interrupted wryly, his lips quirking to the side. 

"No, no!" Dipper shouted, shaking his head vigorously. "He- he- Orion has a really uh, weird fascination with frogs and he thinks giving a frog to someone you like gives you g- good luck or something so-"

"So you don't want to fuck me," Will said slowly. He gave Dipper a once-over, pausing for effect. "But you were checking me out, in that sense?"

"NO!" Dipper cried, eyes wide with panic. "Look, he just- they must have thought I was- just forget it!" he groaned, slapping his face with a hand. Liz and Orion laughed even louder. 

Will gave him the smallest of smiles in return. He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the twins' laughter to subside before he continued. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by you checking me out-" Dipper rolled his eyes, "-I need the two of you to go before I make your uncle have a nosebleed."

"Hey, I wasn't-!" Dipper argued. 

"But Uncle Wiiiiiiiiiill!" Liz complained. She pointed at Dipper, then at Orion, then paused. She giggled when she realized her mistake then pointed at herself. "There's three of us!"

"Stupid," Orion snickered, blowing a raspberry at her. "Will wants Dopper to stay so they could do the fuck!"

"That is _enough,_ Orion. I'm seriously going to call your mother if-" Dipper warned.

"As much as it would be lovely to have 'Dopper' stay here with me and see me get dressed," Will drawled, cutting Dipper off entirely. "I said two because you and Orion are one team, right? One set of a whole?" he guessed. 

At that, Orion and Liz looked at each other. Then Liz smiled, her toothy grin resembling much like her late mother. But Orion thought it would be funny to blow another raspberry right at her face, making Liz squeal and push him to the bed from Dipper's knee. Dipper didn't have enough time to get Orion back up.

Huffing, Dipper wrapped his hands around Liz's waist and gently set her down on the wooden floor, the girl looking up at him with a thumb stuck in her mouth. Then Dipper set Orion down with her, the boy pouting at him with his arms crossed. 

"You two go out and play downstairs, okay?" Dipper told them. 

In unison, the twins smiled and nodded, Orion grabbing his sister's wrist and pulling her out of the attic to the ladder. "And be careful on your way-" Dipper called out. A thump was heard, followed by a set of giggles. Dipper cringed. "-down."

Will leaned against his dresser, the sharp corner digging into his shoulder almost painfully. He used it to wake himself up more, pain being a much more effective sleep fighter than caffeine ever can. "Why'd you stay up here for?" he inquired. Then he waggled his eyebrows at Dipper. "What, you want to see me get dressed?"

"Hardly," Dipper scoffed. When Will teasingly put a hand on the hem of his shirt, Dipper's face changed to one of chagrin. He stood rigid, quietly turning his body around so that his back was to Will. His shoulders were up to his knees, wrapped in his arms. 

Will laughed at his embarrassed behavior, eyes lingering on Dipper for admittedly longer than he should. When Dipper didn't turn around, he quickly discarded his shirt, grabbing the Hawaiian one and pulling it over his shoulders and buttoning it up to the collar. He grimaced, knowing that he was going to cringe looking at himself in the mirror, but there was no going back now. Will got busy into changing his other clothes, talking to Dipper all the while. 

"Why'd you stay in here for, really? I know for a fact you wouldn't come in here to just hunch yourself against the corner like a disciplined child," Will said. 

Dipper snorted, his finger making patterns on the bed sheet beside him. "There's a reason why I let you sleep in, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome for me saving your butt yesterday, but honestly, you didn't-" Will rolled his eyes. 

"No, that's not what I meant," Dipper cut off. His voice sounded off in a way.

Will faltered, his other leg in the middle of going through the pant hole. "Then what?" he asked.

"You..." Dipper's voice was a quiet mumble. "Grunkle Stan came into the kitchen this morning. He almost had a heart attack looking at what you did."

Will chomped down on his bottom lip. Right. That. "How are you certain it was me? It could have-"

"You forgot that one of my Grunkles like to have security in every inch of the house."

Will stayed quiet. And that was all the confirmation Dipper needed. 

"Will?"

"What?" he called out. His voice sounded a little irritated, even when he wasn't, not really. He should have been more careful doing that last night. He should have made sure nothing would catch him. But it was a good thing for this false alarm, at least. When he finally murders Damon, he now knew to disable the cameras and every evidence to go with it, then no one can-

"Have you ever..." Dipper trailed off, voice still a whisper. But it was also strained, like the words were literally climbing out of his throat against his will. "...loved anyone?"

Will pondered over his question for a while, letting it roll in his head. There was silence between them, the sounds of the busy Shack grumbling under them. "Yes. I did," he finally answered. 

"Did they make you do that?" His tone was nothing but short of accusation. But there was understanding to it as well. 

He swallowed the alarmingly fast reply that sat on his tongue, deciding to give Dipper a vague but satisfying answer instead. "No, of course not. I got over them years ago." Which was a complete lie and they both knew it. 

"You know you could talk to me, right?" Dipper whispered. His shoulders tensed a little, like he wanted to turn around and face Will. His fidgeting with the bed sheets stopped, his hands wrapping around his knees. "I mean, you've been listening to all my problems and it's only been a few days. So maybe I could...return the favor?" It came out as an uncertain question. 

Will smiled faintly at the ground, finally getting the other leg in. He moved the pants up, trying to make it a comfortable fit. " _Liebling_ , I don't have a problem, especially not here. But thanks for the offer." He prayed that Dipper didn't understand what that pet name meant to him. 

"Well," Dipper grunted. He let out a sigh, shoulders hunching back. "You better not do it again, William. I'm serious. Stan thought it was me and almost had a double heart attack with Ford when he told him."

"I won't," Will promised. He buckled his pants, zipping up the zipper as well. He stretched his back, grimacing down at the poor fashion sense he made. "So anyway, mind telling me why the hell two rascals were up in my room?"

Dipper, probably realizing that there was no point to keeping his back turned like this, twisted his body back to face Will. "I told you, they wanted to see you," he answered, making it sound like that most obvious thing in the world.

Will rolled his eyes, clumsily grabbing a fine-toothed comb from the top of his dressed. He combed his hair down, trying to tackle the evil thing called bed hair. "I know _that._ " He gave Dipper an obvious look. "I meant _why_ they're here. Isn't Pacifica Northwest the richest girl in the country?" 

The brunet scooted over to the end of the bed, letting his legs dangle. He glanced at Will's window for a brief moment before looking back at Will himself, a weird look clouding his face. But just like a cloud, it disappeared after a moment. "Pacifica's an old friend. Not close, but still a friend. I attended her baby shower, she attended my book signing, and so on. She has a very important announcement to make on behalf of her company today and she didn't want to leave her kids with maids for the whole day."

"So why didn't she?" Will asked with a puzzled look. He thought back to the time he bumped into her. "Doesn't she usually have babysitters to take care of her kids?"

Dipper gave him a sad smile. "You've seen how they act. And that's their tamest behavior I've seen in a long while. Babysitters can't keep up with them."

"So she dumped her kids on you?" he guessed. 

Dipper shrugged. "You could say that," he agreed. "But I kind of like those kids anyway. I haven't seen them since they were one and a half years old. That's probably why they screamed out their lungs when they saw their uncle." He chuckled to himself, probably thinking back to the recent memory. 

Will's lips quirked up in amusement. But he was still a little puzzled. He set the comb back down on his dresser, leaning against it instead. "You're not related to Pacifica or the other parent-" God that hurt to say, "-so why do they call you their uncle?"

Again, Dipper shrugged. He put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward as he looked at the pictures above Will's desk across from the bed. Will glanced at it. It was a map of Gravity Falls, a little red pin marking the Mystery Shack. "Kids tend to do that a lot. Call people their aunt or uncle when they're really not. It's kinda cute," Dipper admitted. He sighed, almost in defeat, as he propped his head on his hand. He kept looking at the large map on Will's wall, eyes glancing at every corner of his town. "I don't have any siblings so it's nice being called an uncle."

Will's gut writhed. "Well-" he said dryly, the word coming out dry. He cleared his throat, starting over. "Why are you looking at my map for?" Stupid question, but it was the only thing that had popped into his head. 

"You want to tour Gravity Falls, right?" Dipper asked him, eyes never once being taken off the map. Will could tell he liked looking at the details of the map, all handcrafted by yours truly. Dipper probably brushed off the map as something Will had bought from the Shack, not what he had made, because no human should have this good of a memory of a place they wanted to forget so badly. 

"Well, yes. It's a wonderful town," Will admitted. He wasn't lying. 

"I know I promised you that we would tour the town together but you wouldn't mind if we wait just a little more, right? Like, next month during school break? I have too much going on to even process touring right now," Dipper groaned. 

"Yeah, no problem," Will assured him. "Take as much time as you want. It's not like I'm going any time soon." He chuckled.

Dipper gave him a sympathetic look, probably thinking Will was upset about that. "Anyway," he continued, clearing his throat. He stood up from the edge of Will's bed, scratching an itch on his cheek. "You won't mind if I go, right? It's Saturday and I work part time at the Shack on weekends when there's no school. I just took a break to play with the kids."

"Go ahead. I'll take your shift with playing with the kids for you," Will told him. 

Smiling gratefully, Dipper turned to the exit of the attic and came downstairs, yelling at his Grunkle Stan that he was going to take some girl's shift. Will watched him leave, staying in his position even long after Dipper had left, his voice gone in the ocean of bargaining customers in the gift shop. 

Will took a deep breath through his nose, closing his eyes for a brief moment while he stood back up without the help of his dresser. He rolled his shoulder, the one stiff from sleep. As promised, he made his way back down as well, looking for the little gremlins so he could play with them. Kids were annoying, he could give them that, but they were chaotic and lawless- everything that he embodied in. Sometimes you'd see him turning kids to puddles of water out of boredom then the next moment you'd see him running around in the rain with a whole nation of kids behind his back.

It wasn't hard to find the kids. All he had to do was listen for screaming and shouts of, "ORION LIVESSS!" and "NO, ORION IS DEAD!"

He found them chasing each other in the middle of the living room, Liz's stuffed dog clutched in Orion's hand as Liz tried to take it back. "Give it back! Give it back!" she cried, stumbling on her own feet. 

Will stood in the middle of the room, trying to grab the both of them at once to get them to knock it off. Apparently, he underestimated toddlers and he found himself huffing after them after a full minute of joining in the hunt. Shouts of "Slow down!" and "I'm calling your mother!" did nothing to them. What, was he not as scary as Dipper? Well, to be fair, Mabel was never afraid of him so- eugh. 

He blamed Mabel genetics. 

If they started yelling at him that he was out of shape, he was going to go back in time so that puns were never invented to doom the whole human race. 

"Miss me, miss me!" Orion sang, dancing out of both of their reaches. "Now you gotta- uh, kiss him!"

"Kiss who?" Liz cried. 

"Will kills Dopper!" Orion laughed. Will was thirty percent sure he meant, "Will kiss Dipper."

"Orion, I literally have your mother on speed dial, get your a- butt over here before I call her!" Will snapped, arms reaching out for the toddler. But Orion just simply dodged with no sweat. "Liz, help me out here!" But Liz paid no mind to him, still screaming after her brother like there was no tomorrow. This was a nightmare. And that wasn't a compliment. 

"The both of you, get over here and sit down like nice kids!" Will shouted. "If your mother was here, what would she say about your behavior?!" 

" _Perseus, Elizabeth, be like Northwests and sit down!"_ the twins snapped in a very, _very_ scarily accurate tone that sounded much like Pacifica Elise Northwest. They even got her anger right. In fact, the similarity was so strong that he was momentarily stunned, stopping in his tracks to blink at them in confusion. He blamed Pacifica genetics for making them talk beyond their age group. 

"No, I mean-" he started, watching them chase around him like he was some sort of obstacle course. "What would your _other_ mother say?"

And just like that, they froze where they were, looking at each other with wide eyes like red-handed children. 

In triumph, William walked over to them and grabbed their waist, pulling them up to sit them down on the couch. All the while, they didn't once complain for being manhandled. They felt rigid around his arms. That was a normal thing for young human infants like them, right?

He stretched his back, stepping backward to admire his work for taming two crazy children. "There! Ha!" he whooped. But they looked like on the verge of tears, bottom lips jutting out and quivering. "Aw, come on, what now?" he groaned. 

Then Liz burst into tears, sobbing and wailing loudly. Orion joined soon after, much to Will's irritation. 

He smacked one side of his face, massaging his forehead from the upcoming migraine. "I heart kids, my ass," he grumbled, shaking his head. Will walked over to the couch, crouching in front of them with a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry I made you think about how much fun your mother is having in Scotland while you two stay in this stupid Shack, but I need you to calm the fu- frog down or-" 

"M- Mama says Mommy's postcards-" Orion hiccuped. 

"-for us," Liz finished, rubbing one of her eyes with a hand. Without her stuffed dog, she had her other arm around her stomach like she was going to be sick. Will knew for a fact that Dipper and his family wouldn't appreciate puke on the carpet. 

"Yeah, and?" Will gave them confused looks. And they were crying because...?

"We lost them _all_!" the both of them wailed, sounding terribly anguished. 

Will blinked. "How did you _lose_ all your-?"

"Lizzy burnt them in the fire pit," Orion sniffed. 

"I did not!" Liz clarified. "Orion threw it in ocean! In ocean! In ocean!" She bounced up and down in anticipation, jabbing a finger at her brother. In return, Orion put her in a headlock and started tussling her, screaming, "Fire pit! Fire pit! Fire pit!"

"THE BOTH OF YOU, _ENOUGH_!" Will thundered, slamming a hand on the carpet to stifle his magic. The carpet smoked a little, the smoke a faint color of blue. Will's fingers twitched. 

Instantly, Liz and Orion pressed closer to each other, hugging and looking at Will with terrified looks. 

Will's anger washed away like a tidal wave, his magic receding like a frightened animal. 

They reminded him so much of the broken twins. 

"Sorry, I'm sorry-" Will muttered, hands folding onto his lap awkwardly. If he reached out for them, he had no doubt one of them was going to yell bloody murder. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just-"

Orion reached over and hit him right on top of the head. " _Ow_ , what-?!" Will complained, a hand flying over to his head. 

"That's for scaring my sister!" Orion accused. 

"You took her dog!" Will said back. Orion pouted at him, knowing that Will had a completely good point. 

Then he reached over again and flicked his nose. "Hey, would you just-?!" 

"Get her dog back, you- you clod!" Orion shouted at him. 

Will raised an eyebrow at him, rubbing his red nose. Great, now he was going to look like Rudolph because of this useless, bipolar two year old. He didn't even think two year olds were supposed to have his vocabulary, might as well as knowing a word meaning a hunk of dirt. "Did you just call me a clod?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Nu, he said demon dorito!" Liz corrected.

Will grunted, getting off the floor. "Well, I can't argue with that."

He stood, looking around the carpet for Liz's lost stuffed dog. He found it not too far away, bending over to pick it up then tossing it right at them. Liz caught it with a screech of happiness, cuddling her plushy like how Mabel Pines would cuddle her pet pig. Orion huffed, crossing his arms like he was jealous of her friendship with an inanimate object. 

"Now, the two of you," Will stated, staring them down in case one of them started to scream or cry. Why didn't humans just come out ready to go and to kill like every other demon on this useless dimension? "You have an hour before Dipper's shift ends. What do you gremlins want to do?"

"Human Centipede! Human Centipede! Human Centipede!" the twins chanted, bouncing up and down on the couch in unison. 

Will gave them a bemused look. "How did you...?" He shook his head. "Nevermind. But no. Something  _appropriate_ for your age."

Liz and Orion pondered over this for a while. They stuck their tongues out, faces identical to each other. It was Liz who raised a hand up a moment later, bouncing in her seat like a hyperactive student who had a really good answer. "I know, I know, I know!" she cried out. 

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and pointed at her, grunting. The last thing he needed was for her to call him a teacher because he definitely wasn't going to deal with a two year old student on how to skin a human body. 

"Gift shop!" she grinned. Then Orion joined in her bouncing, much to Will's dismay. "Gift shop, gift shop, gift sho-!"

"I get it, I get it! Stop repeating yourselves, jeez!" Will said in slight annoyance, throwing his hands up in the air. "What do you two even want to _do_ there? Bother Dipper? Oooh, I see!" He snapped his fingers, smiling at them like a proud parent. "You're going to annoy Damon! Good, I raised you goddamn right you fu- froggers!"

Orion and Liz gave each other weird looks. "Nooooo," Orion drawled out, looking back up at Will. "We want to shop! Like an- an adult!"

Will grunted in disappointment. "Ugh. Fine. I'll teach you how to murder a certain someone soon anyway. Let's get you guys up and-"

"Backpack," Liz stated. She pointed to the other side of the room. 

In confusion, Will looked at what she was pointing at. There, slumped against the wall near the front door, were two backpacks. One was sparkly pink, covered in glitter, stickers, and literally everything a little girl would want on their three thousand dollar company printed backpack. The other was as simple as it could get- a cheeseburger backpack. 

"Let me guess," Will said dryly. "The pink one is yours and the cheeseburger backpack is your brother's?"

"Mhm," Liz answered, bobbing her head. 

"Cheeseburger backpack, cheeseburger backpack, cheeseburger backpack!" chanted Orion, already crawling off the couch. He face-planted the carpet but he was back up in minutes, waddling like a penguin to the other side of the room. He picked up his backpack, sticking his chubby little arms through the backpack straps with frustrating difficulty. He even tried to bite through it, falling to the floor and growling as he came around in circles trying to get it on.

"How did your brother even _think_ about getting a cheeseburger backpack?" Will asked the sister, incredulous. 

"Gray rocks from the universe! Whoosh!" Orion called out, legs kicking in the air. 

"Gray ro-?"

"He means gay," Liz corrected, glaring at her brother. She probably thought he was an idiot for getting that one word wrong in her dictionary.

Sighing, Will wrapped his arms around Liz, hiking her up on the crook of his elbow. Her little arms came around his neck, her head tucked under his chin comfortably. He walked over to the other disappointing twin, pulling him by his neck to finally get the backpack in. Orion blinked in surprise, standing rigidly there in confusion as to how his backpack magically came on. Then Will took Liz's backpack, pulled her arm out, put the backpack there, and tucked her arm back close to her chest. 

Hand in hand with Orion with his other arm carrying Liz, they walked into the gift shop. 

They were greeted with a string fire of shouts, Will wincing from the loudness of it. His head pounded, triggered by the loud noises within the gift shop. He blinked, trying to force it away. 

It only disappeared when Liz put her fingers inside his ears, noticing his distress. She stayed like that, looking warily at every stranger they passed. Meanwhile, Orion skipped, tugging on Will's shirt to get him to move faster to their uncle. "C'mon, space dorito! I want candy! Candy, candy, candy!" he wailed. 

Will resisted the urge to grab the kid and toss him into a trash can, but held himself. Dipper was watching him. 

He almost stopped walking altogether. Dipper was working here. Therefore, Dipper was working the-

He hid his grin, speeding up his walk so fast that even Orion had a hard time keeping up. He weaved through old ladies and young flirty teenagers all together, his eyes set for the brunet working the cash register with a bored look on his face. "Dipper!" he called out, trying to keep his excitement at bay. The last thing he needed was for Dipper to think he was obsessed. 

At the sound of his name, Dipper looked up from counting money, watching Will approach with a small smile of greeting on his face. Thankfully, no one was there to buy something, leaving Dipper and Will alone. Or, as alone as they could get with two kids. 

"Oh, you brought the kids," Dipper said in surprise, looking at Liz cradled in his arm and then at Orion, who was bouncing to try and reach the free candy bowl on the counter. "Orion, you've already had fifty six pieces of candy today. No more!" Dipper scolded. 

"But Uncle Dippeeeeer!" Orion moaned. 

Dipper shook his head. He turned his attention back at Will, giving him a look of curiosity. "Why'd you bring them here? It's Saturday, Will, the store gets really-"

"I know, I know," Will said quickly. He crouched down when Liz stirred, setting her lightly down on the floor next to her brother. Just like that, she sped away with Orion, the both of them giggling and laughing as they weaved in between the legs of the customers. 

Will watched them go, not noticing that he was staring for a little longer than intended until Dipper coughed, catching his attention. "So...?" Dipper raised an eyebrow at him. 

"They wanted to come here for some reason," Will explained. He nodded to the energetic two year olds running around, playing a game of tag. "Thought it would be better than to have them sulking inside the house. You don't mind that, right? Because I could get them back inside if they're bothering the-"

"No, it's fine," Dipper assured him. He put the money back in the cash register, looking at the twins with an amused look. "Besides, I think it's _attracting_ customers here."

Will looked around for confirmation. Indeed, the customers looked extremely pleased with having two cute toddlers running around their legs than being irritated by them. They even took pictures, some of them tugging on their partner to look at the kids. Outside, more and more people were coming in, laughing when Orion or Liz snuck by in between their legs. Will didn't get why humans liked tiny humans so much. They were underdeveloped and useless and-

Okay fine. They were cute. Will grunted to himself. 

"But you think Dipper's cuter," a voice snickered behind him. 

"Yeah, I know. He's-" Will sighed. Realizing that the only person behind him was Dipper, he jumped. Eyes wide, he craned his neck. 

Mabel Pines, her form a ghostly blue, was floating a few feet from the ground with the most satisfied smile on her face. "Missed me?" she chirped. 

Will raised an eyebrow at her. Knowing that Dipper was watching him and was probably seeing him raise an eyebrow at empty space, he shook her head at her, just a tiny bit. _What the hell are you doing here?_ he asked with his eyes. 

"Being a ghost in the mindscape, duh!" Mabel told him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She floated about, circling Dipper's head without the other knowing what she was doing. Will tried not to snicker when she made funny faces behind Dipper's head. 

"Quit doing that," he scolded out loud.

Mabel raised an eyebrow at him. Dipper raised his head and did the same. It was almost comical seeing how similar they looked, if not for the fact he had to explain the situation to Dipper. 

He almost whacked himself in between the eyes. Right, since their mindscapes were kind of entwined, she could hear his every thought like he was verbally speaking them out. There was no need for speaking out loud to her. 

"Sorry, it was a mosquito," he lied, miming a slap to the neck as if a mosquito had tried to bite him there again. Dipper gave him one look, then went back to attending the customers that were coming to him. Will had to step back to let the customers through. 

When Dipper was distracted, he glared at Mabel. _Seriously, what are you doing out of your mindscape?_ he asked her. 

"Easy peasy!" she chirped. She floated right next to him, then pointed at the kids taking a juice box break near the maps aisle. "I wanted to play with my kids!"

 _Mabel, as much as you want to, you physically can't._ He sighed. _They can't even-_

"Watch me," she scoffed. Then she floated right over to them, passing through bodies. Instead of watching her fragile attempts to find a way to 'play' with her kids, Will bit down on his tongue and turned to look at Dipper, who was now alone at the counter again after bidding goodbye to a little girl who had paid for a pine tree hat. A hat he used to wear, in fact. 

"So how's work going for you?" Will asked him kindly. Small talk was the first step he could take. 

Dipper shrugged in reply, opening the cash register to put in some coins the girl had given him. "As much as work can get. Boring, but it pays."

Will shifted from foot to foot, putting an elbow on the counter to keep his balance. "So you're going to do this for the rest of your life? Work and more work?" he asked in genuine curiosity. That was literally all Dipper had been doing. And he wondered if Dipper was doing it for more than the money. 

"No, of course not. Who wants to work for their entire life?" Dipper said. 

"Spongebob."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Very funny," he said wryly. "Anyway, I was thinking after working I'd settle down with my boyfriend, you know? Buy a nice house in the middle of nowhere, live with him, that kind of thing."

Will bristled. Right. Damon. That guy. The fucking demon. The demon-who's-actually-a-human-and-that's-why-Will-can't-challenge-him-into-a-bloody-duel.

"Right, uh-" Will rubbed the back of his neck, searching his brain for more excuses to talk to Dipper. But no matter how much he tried, nothing came into mind. At least, not something that Dipper would question his sanity for. What sane person would ask their unrequited love, "Hey, do you mind if I murder your boyfriend? No? M'kay thanks!"?

It was Dipper who kept their conversation going. "So, how about you, Will?"

"What about me?" he asked, slightly confused by Dipper's question. 

"What are you going to do after you work? Or uh, after this mess is over for you, I guess," Dipper told him, opening the cash register again to take payment from a middle-aged man. 

Will paused, thinking it over. "I'm...not sure," he said slowly. "There's two possible outcomes in the near future for me but that's about it."

"Right. Go back home or be doomed to stay with the crazy Pines family for life," Dipper chuckled. Eh, he was close enough. 

Dipper glanced at him for a brief moment. "Hey, what _did_ you do to work? Did you work as an accountant? Firefighter?" His eyes scanned Will for a sign of something that would tip him off as Will would be. But Dipper was still confused. 

"Oh, I worked as a prostitute for the past two years," Will said. Or, what he would have said if he didn't realize how horrid that would sound to Dipper. So he bit his tongue and said, "I worked as a street magician." Not the baddest thing to come out of his panicking mouth, but definitely not the best. Street magician? Seriously?

"But you said your family had a lot of..." Dipper mused. A look of realization splashed across his face. "Oh. The, 'I wanted to live my own life despite having rich heritage' kind of thing?" he guessed. 

"Spot on," Will grinned.

"Then prove it to me."

Will blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

Dipper gestured at him. "You said you were a street magician. Show me a magic trick."

Panicking, Will scanned through his mind of all the things he could do. Surely, he could use the help of _real_ magic here, but with so many people gathered in the gift shop, he was more than certain that at least one of them would see it. Especially Dipper. His eyes looked through the small gift shop for something to use as a prop. 

Instead, he found Orion and Liz gathered nearby and within earshot, giggling and laughing as a tin can kept rolling to each of them when none of them were even touching it. The can would nudge them, then roll away when they tried to touch it. Then the twins would burst into giggles all over again. 

Above them was Mabel Pines, prodding the tin can with a stick she formed from her mindscape and rolling it around to amuse them. She was smiling, her chocolate brown eyes looking like they were melting in the sunlight and with how happy she looked playing with her kids for the first time. It wasn't much, the kids couldn't even see her, but it made Mabel beyond joyful. 

She caught Will staring at her, her head turning upwards to stare right back at him. And she smiled, and said, "They don't have to see me to know their mom loves them." 

As if Orion and Liz had heard her say that, they both exclaimed, "Mommy!" in accusation when the tin can rolled away from them. Mabel laughed, taking the tin can back over to them. She glanced back at Will, one last time, and smiled warmly. A smile of a truly happy person with unconditional love. 

And he smiled back. 

"Will? You gonna show me a magic trick or what? You've been staring at the twins for a long time," Dipper chuckled, taking money from a couple when they rang up two matching t-shirts. 

"Right. Sorry. I'm trying to look for the perfect magic trick," Will explained to him with a sheepish smile, eyes scanning freely around the Shack. 

Then his eyes landed on a girl with red hair, leaning against another counter while talking to another girl. It wasn't Wendy, which was obvious with how she talked and how she had a coffee clutched in her hand like it was her life. Will pointed at her, Dipper looking at what he was pointing at. 

Near him, Orion giggled, "That lady's drunk."

"With how's her life is going, I wouldn't be surprised," Will shrugged, dropping his hand now that he caught Dipper's attention. 

"What do you mean?" the brunet asked in curiosity.

"Yeah, you see- the girl she likes doesn't like her back because she's dating some donkey-spanking wet sock named Spencer," Will explained. "She's rambling about it to her friend right now."

Dipper shot him an incredulous look. "Oookay," he said slowly. "Erica May's has been working at the Shack for two months and all I know is that she really hates this guy named Spencer. Like, mortal enemies kind of thing. She won't shut up about it. How did you...?"

"Magic," Will shrugged. To convince Dipper more, he pointed at the red-head's friend. "You see her friend she's talking to? Yeah, she has a crazy stalker who won't leave her alone, likes to sing Disco Girl in the shower, used to have a Dora the Explorer haircut, and doesn't have the guts to tell her group of friends that she's dating a guy she had a massive crush on since first grade and just recently mended ties with." Will clicked his tongue. "She also has a crazy sister."

Dipper snorted from his last statement. "Okay, Magician Boy," he laughed. "Since you're so all-knowing, what do you know about me? I can't know for sure that what you're telling me is true because I don't know those girls well."

Will hummed. Already too far into his pride, Will had forgotten that Dipper might be a little too sarcastic with his statements and may be extremely weirded out if he told him about everything Dipper was like. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "You used to wear a pine tree hat and you have a single blue rose in your room."

Just like that, Dipper's mouth clamped shut. The brunet gave him a bewildered look, speechless to say the least. Then realizing why Dipper was acting like that, Will tried to cover himself. "Oh, I- uh- your Great Uncles showed me pictures of when you were younger, so I- you-"

"Will," Dipper cut off. Will's mouth glued shut. "Did you...sneak into my room?"

"What? No! Why would I- you- I would never-!" Will argued. His tongue kept tripping, no matter how hard he tried to seem confident. 

"Then how the hell did you know I have a rose on my nightstand?" Dipper challenged. He closed the cash register with much more vigor than before. "I get the pine tree hat thing, I used to be iconic for that stupid hat, but- the rose? Really?" He didn't sound impressed. 

"Dipper, I can explain-" Will rushed out. 

"It's okay, Will. You don't have to apologize," Dipper reassured him. But he seemed a little disgruntled. "Some people are curious, I get that. Just next time ask if you want to see my room. You might walk into something...private." His face gradually reddened, much to Will's annoyance. Right. Damon and him shared a room. Oh, how could he ever forget. Will made a face. 

Seeing his face, Dipper gave him a pointed look. "Look Magician Boy, how about you go up to my room and get something for me? I need my pine tree hat."

Will stared at him. "What for?"

Dipper shrugged. "I forgot about that old thing. It's buried somewhere in my closet and Damon hates finding that randomly. So I thought I should just toss it out."

The words were out of Will's mouth before he could stop them. "Could I have it, then?"

The brunet simply shrugged at him, not at all surprised by his question. He probably got asked weirder things in his life time. "Whatever, dude. It's old and it smells like my sweat, just warning you. I don't care what you do with it."

Will grinned at him. "Sure thing, Dipper. You want me to get it now?" 

"Now would be perfect timing. Damon's coming home in a few minutes so you might want to get it before he comes," Dipper told him. He pulled a serious look. "Hey, don't go snooping through my stuff and Damon's, alright? Grunkle Ford would shoot you if you did." Then he chuckled, telling Will that he was just joking. 

The demon saluted him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the kids playing with Mabel. "Yeah, I'll be in and out faster than..." He grunted. "I can't think of something right now. But I'll go as soon as I check on the kids."

He was just about to do just that before he noticed Dipper's weird look on him. One he hadn't seen, but thought looked extremely familiar. "What?" he asked. Out of impulse, he looked down at his body. Weird clothes, yeah, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

"You know, those twins haven't seemed happier than when they spent time with you today. They both looked so down during interviews and photo sets," Dipper commented, nodding his head to the twins still playing with their mom. Not once had they stopped grinning or lost interest in the tin can Mabel was lazily rolling to each of them. 

"If you're going to tell me I'm good with kids, you're wasting your time. I almost snapped Orion's neck for screaming so loud," Will said sarcastically. But honestly, he wasn't all that lying. 

Dipper chuckled. "I bet everyone felt like that at least one point in their life with Orion. But hey, you're the one who made them happy," Dipper continued on. He smiled contentedly.

But then it morphed into a look of confusion. 

Then irritation. Then frustration. Then just downright confusion.

"What's wrong? Are they taking something down?" Will asked in concern. He came on his tip toes to see what the twins were doing. But they seemed harmless. 

"No, no, it's just-" Dipper said quickly, his look of confusion deepening. "I remember...or dreamt or..." He shook his head, blinking like it would come back to him. "I remember you doing something extremely father-like and someone...someone I knew told me you were a good father and I didn't believe it back then and..."

Dipper laughed humorlessly to himself. His puzzlement disappeared. "Sorry. I was just confusing memories with dreams," he apologized, sounding relieved more than anything else. 

But how he described it made Will think that it was more than just a dream. "Where were you when that dream happened?" Will inquired, just out of curiosity. "If you even remember it."

Dipper scratched the itch on his cheek again, thinking for a while. "I was eating ice cream."

Ice cream? What did they do with ice cream? Ice cream, ice cream, _ice cream..._ oh! Ohhh!

Will almost laughed at the memory. It was one of the happier memories he could recall. But really, he almost laughed out of relief. Dipper was remembering. 

"So Dipper, who was that person who told you I was a good father?" Will slurred. 

Dipper gave him a weird look. "Good father? Whoever said you were a good father?"

Will's stomach drop. Memory turbulence. A false alarm, almost. Some amnesiacs went through it. They let you believe they got their memory back but it turns out they lose that memory after holding onto it. Dipper's memories were, after all, erased with no backup to get them back. 

"Right, right," Will mumbled under his breath. "I'll see you around, Pines. I..."

Dipper leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

His back became rigid as a board, his heart rate spiking up for one quick moment. He felt like one of those moments in cartoons, where the protagonist gets kissed by their love interest and they freeze up and turn red from head to toe. The only difference was that Dipper only did it out of thanks, not love. 

"Hey, thanks," Dipper told him, punching his shoulder. That shook William from his daydream. "I haven't seen the twins happier in so long. Maybe you should become their next babysitter."

"Y- yeah, I- uh- you- I'm- twins- I-" Will stammered, slowly backing away. He jabbed a thumb in the twins' direction, trying to tell Dipper that he was going to go. The brunet watched him in quiet amusement, quirking an eyebrow when Will almost fell down from a wire on the floor. 

Will shook his head, face feeling steaming hot. He turned around, facing the kids to greet them and Mabel to recover from him stupidity. 

Mabel wasn't there, but the kids certainly were. They were poking the tin can warily, letting it roll to each other in fascination, as if Mabel hadn't left them hanging all of a sudden. 

"Uncle Will! Uncle Will! Lookie! Lookie!" Orion shouted excitedly. He pointed at the tin can. "Mommy was here!"

Will crouched their level, one hand on his knee to keep himself steady. "Hmm," he chirped. "Well, what did mommy say to the both of you?"

"She called Orion a butt," Liz snickered. 

"Nu! She says my butt is fat!" Orion argued. Or "fab" in Orion lisp speak.

"She also said- um- uh-" Liz said again, shifting her weight while she thought about what her mom said to her. "Uh..."

"She call us Percy and Penny!" Orion exclaimed. "She said it sound like twin!"

"Well, it does sound like twin names, don't you agree?" Will asked them. He tilted his head slightly to the side. "Don't you want everyone to know you two are twins?"

"Yeah, but I hate my name!" Orion huffed. "I no like Percy!"

"No Penny," Liz shook her head vigorously.

"Well the two of you need twin names. Like the Mystery Twins, for example," Will told them. "So how about I call you Percy and Penny occasionally so you two remember that you have each other?"

Liz and Orion giggled. "Uncle Will! We know!" Liz said in between giggles. 

Will smiled at them. He couldn't help but feel the weight at the corners of his lips. "But one day you might not," he said softly. Then he cleared his throat, trying to get the sentimental-ness out of his system. It was bad for demons like him. "And how about your Uncle Will gives the two of you nicknames as well?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Liz and Orion agreed. 

"Hmm," Will hummed, pretending to think. He touched Liz's nose, who in turn got her revenge by lunging at him and pressing her whole chubby palm to his nose, squishing it down while she said, "Bap!" Realizing how fun it was, she continued to press Will's nose. "Bap, bap, bap!" she continuously said, laughter escaping her lips. 

Will waved her off, forcing her to sit down. "Since you're really energetic but reserved, I'll call you Pine Cone. I used to call someone I loved Pine Cone as a joke, so you get it too," Will announced proudly. 

"Pine Cone, Pine Cone, Pine Cone!" Orion teased, dancing clumsily around his sister. He fell on his butt, but laughed either way. 

"And since you're the irritating counterpart of your sister-" Will began. 

"No I'm not! No I'm not!" Orion complained. 

"-you'll be known as Pine Needle. Get it? Cause you're legit a needle in my side, kid," Will stated, semi-seriously. In protest, Orion threw the tin can at his head, which landed right across Will's nose. It started to throb but Will just simply ignored the pain. 

"And Uncle Dipper?" Liz asked excitedly. 

Will shrugged. "Dipper."

"Nu!" Orion and Liz complained. "Pine Tree, Pine Tree, Pine Tree!" they chanted. 

Will fought back a grin. "Pine Tree," he declared. 

* * *

Will huffed, taking a break to catch his breath and wipe his brow with the back of his hand. 

Of course, this only caused blood to be swiped right across his forehead, but he couldn't care less. He was already submerged in seventy percent blood so it honestly didn't matter right now. 

What only mattered was gutting the human splayed out in front of him, each hand and foot nailed to the grass with gigantic wooden steaks. It took a while for the blood to stop seeping through the large holes in each limb, covering the dirt and grass in dark red, but it was funner that way.

He stabbed the knife through the sternum, wiggling the blade inside with squishy jello-like ease into the flesh. It made quenching noises, a sound unnatural for a fresh body. Which was probably why Will had speculated long ago that this was an old body. 

The heart's pump forced blood to spill on his face, making Will wrinkle his nose in disgust. He stabbed the heart multiple times, letting the beating die down by itself. When it did, he dug his whole hand inside, grabbing the heart while stringy arteries were felt around his forearm. Ignoring the cold blood, he ripped it out with a wet snap too unnatural for ribs. 

He looked at the heart as carefully as he could, noticing every curve and every stab he had placed itself inside the organ. It took his knife and sliced it clean in half, letting the remains fall to the floor. He leaned down, looking at what the heart had in store for him. 

Will wrinkled his nose. Nothing. Like all the others. He thought for sure that this person would hold it.

Shaking his head in disappointment, he shifted his weight from straddling the limp stomach. He placed the kitchen knife safely by his side and curved his fingers inside the ribs, then tore it open with all his might. It cracked with wet grinding noises to boot. It was like lost music to William's ears. He had forgotten how fun it was to open up human bodies like this. 

Before he could help himself to taking out every organ and ripping them clean in half for the hell of it, a weight knocked him off the body, his shoulders screaming in pain as unnaturally long and strong claws dug into them. 

He blinked the stars out of his vision, staring at a horrid beast with equally horrid breath stare down at him with hungry eyes. Silvia dripped down to his chest, the spit almost taking a orange tint. A lycanthrope. 

Before the werewolf could eat him alive (which Will would have yawned at), someone shot it clean through the eyes, the wolf whimpering like a dog before it fell to Will's side. 

Will grunted, getting the rest of the weight off himself. He sat upright, coughing and trying to remove the spit from his Hawaiian shirt. 

Footsteps caught his attention and he looked up, almost warily. There was a girl standing right in front of him, a crossbow pointed at him. She had red hair cut into a pixie cut, a red flannel that matched the blood on the ground strongly. She looked extremely strong, no doubt about it, and William didn't doubt that without his magic, he could be dead within seconds of her grasp. 

"Long time no see, Wendy Corduroy," Will drawled. 

Wendy scoffed, almost in disbelief. She lowered her loaded crossbow, giving him an _are you kidding me?_ look. "So it _is_ you. You're William," she mused. She gave him a somewhat weirded out look. "Of all people, I never thought you'd come back, _Will._ Doing of all things, too."

Will had prepared for her to yell at him for almost killing Dipper, for her to shoot first then ask later. But she never did, her "cool" demeanor showing more than usual. It confused him as to why Wendy was looking at him like a friend, not a foe. And he realized that it must be because of the hat on his head, marking him as one of them. As a friend. 

"Once a killer, always a killer," Will shrugged. "Isn't that what you guys always say?"

"What are you doing with one of the bodies in the perimeter?" she demanded. 

Will quirked an eyebrow at her. "I thought it was already obvious."

She was quiet for a good moment. "You're trying to open the portal again," she guessed, voice soft and somehow...shaky, even afraid. 

"Close," Will hummed, standing up. Wendy stepped back, muscles tensing under her flannel in case he tried to do something. He almost rolled his eyes at her. "I'm trying to close it. For a genius monster hunter at night, you're very dense."

"What...what for?" she strained out. Her eyes watched him closely. But they did not betray her mistrust for him. In fact, she seemed kind of content with him.

Will narrowed his eyes. "You've seen how many people kill each other out there to open that portal and gain power beyond my own. I want to stop it," he told her boredly. 

"By killing more?" she snorted. 

Will nudged the filleted body with the tip of his shoe. "This guy had been murdered months ago. I'm simply checking the body for..."

"You believe the theory too, don't you?" Wendy asked him. "That one of the serial killers leave clues for other genius killers to find the other souls?"

"I don't believe it, I know it," Will sighed. "Humans are greedy people, like demons. The only difference is that they trust other people to do their bidding wholeheartedly. And I can't...I can't let them find any more of the bodies."

Wendy stared at him, for God knows how long. "Someone close to you is one of them." A statement.

"Two," Will told her. He trusted her, oddly enough. Perhaps it was because she hadn't shot him dead yet, despite him being in her mercy. "Two kids. I can't let anyone use them like what they've done to Mabel. I can't." Now that he knew the twins were marks, they were as good as dead to him. As much as he tried, he couldn't keep them safe from a whole army of demons and humans alike forever. But he will go down protecting them all if he had to. 

Wendy's eyes flashed with grief at the mention of her old lovable friend. It was no secret that Wendy Corduroy and Mabel Pines were very good friends. "You're doing this for Mabel too," Wendy stated, her voice crackling just a little bit to show the underside of the tough lumberjack girl. Then her eyes came up over his head and on his finger and the twinkle in her eyes betrayed just a little bit of her delight. She was still as mischievous as she was in high school, if not a little more mature. "And Dipper too. Man, you've got some obstacles to complete to get to _his_ heart. And I don't mean it literally."

"I know," Will said. "And I'm planning on making sure I _do_ get his heart."

Wendy grinned. "And I'll be by your side, every step of the way. Dudes stay with dudes."

Will smiled back at her. "Thank you." 

He meant it.

A silence fell between them, right before the lumberjack gave him a pointed look. "What?" Will asked. 

"Are you going to help me bury the body or what?" she asked in mock irritation. Then she nudged the lycanthrope right beside her, the furry body twitching slightly under her touch. "And I have to take this bad boy to Ford. Run some tests and shit."

Will chuckled, fixing the bill of his battered pine tree hat. 

"As long as you tell me about all these missed years along the way."

Wendy whistled lowly. "Then, dude, you've got a _lot_ to catch up on."

The mutt twitched. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that was a very dark turn that was rushed a little. Laughing with kids to gutting a person. Just William Things <3.


	15. Bite The Bullet, Bill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can explain. I ran into some major problems but now I'm here! I promise I won't disappear like that again ;-;. The Legacy of a Broken Heart is steadily getting more and more hits and if that fic hits 10000, I swear to my two Charizards on Pokemon Go that I'm going to keep screaming until it physically hurts my throat omg. The ones who comment, kudos, and just overall get me one lone notification on my email are saints and angels sent from above in my eyes in all honesty, even though I look like I don't see them, because I see each and every single one. ( ﾉ^w^)ﾉﾟ
> 
> [This is the longest chapter as of now, it literally beat Ch. 8 by like 8000 words with 20000+ in total and that's still a crap ton, so forgive me for making it so long ;-;]

_"You say that you love me_  
_But you act like you don't_  
_You used to adore me_  
_Laughed at all of my jokes_  
_Don't take this the wrong way_  
_You put me in harm's way."_

**[$ting | The Neighbourhood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ncwyxArd4c) **

* * *

It's been two weeks. 

Two weeks since William made that god-awful deal to stay at the Shack and try to win Dipper over. 

And two weeks, it seems, since William had spoken to Damon. 

Don't get him wrong, he was glad that he didn't have to talk to Damon about any of this. The little glares in the hallway and the "accidental" shoulder bumping were the only things they did to show that they acknowledged each others' presences. Each time Dipper was in the room talking to one of them, the other would always, more often than not, be right behind, waiting for the other to make one stupid move so they could have it over with. 

But since provoking each other in the presence of a guy who had no idea that one was in love with him and the other he's in love _with_ was not a good idea, they stuck to ignoring each other. Or, at least annoying each other to the point past childish. 

In fact, Will was just remembering the time he slapped himself and told Dipper, who had blatantly asked him what happened to his throbbing cheek, that Damon had slapped him. 

He didn't notice Wendy rambling on until the girl slapped his shoulder, the stinging sensation bringing him back to reality. 

" _Dude!_ Were you even _listening_  to me?" she said in annoyance, a look of displeasure on her face. True, she learned to become his friend and trust him enough to be on his side, but that didn't mean that she didn't have the right to be wary of him. Only Mabel Pines was capable of being comfortably one hundred percent in his very presence. 

"Look Red, I'm sorry. I'm just having a rough day," he grumbled, settling back to propping his head back on his hand on the counter after Wendy's disturbance. He wasn't particularly looking at anyone in the Shack, but more like looking for someone than anything else. 

Wendy frowned, lips tugging down in a look that didn't suit the laid back girl. She was meant for smiling and hollering with her brothers as she chomped down mounds and mounds of logs in her father's business, not taking a pledge to the Shack by working the cash register. "Bi- Will. _Ugh,_ I need to work on the name thing," Wendy mumbled, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly. She opened the cash register to recount the money. "But anyway, it's literally just eight in the morning. There is no way in hell you could be having a rough day."

Will chuckled. But it sounded dry. "Try waking up to seeing Dipper mercilessly making out with his _Liebhaber,_ " he responded, his words just as dry. 

"Oh." Wendy winced. "Can't imagine how you'd feel, to be honest. That sucks, all I know."

"It more than just _sucks,_ Red," Will said with a roll of his eyes. "Literally the only reason why I keep enduring him sucking faces with that _demon_ is because I need him to learn to love me before the summer ends."

Wendy glanced up at the window of the gift shop. Silently, without even looking, she took the money from an old lady's nimble fingers and replaced it with some coins, brow furrowing as she searched the outside. Not much tourists were coming to the Shack these days, but Will couldn't blame them. It was ashy gray out there, like someone had thrown tobacco smoke into the sky. It was chilly, winter rolling in quicker than anyone could have predicted. Will even heard the news anchors say that this just might be the last day of fall, right before the big snow storm happened to start off the winter season.

"Can't believe I'm working than spending the last day of fall in the mall with my friends or something," Wendy grumbled. She pushed the cash register closed with a click. "Do you even know how long winter lasts in Gravity Falls? I swear to God that this town has twice the snow than the rest of Oregon."

"I can only imagine," Will said. He sat back on the lawn chair he pulled out to sit beside Wendy behind the cash register, heaving a deep sigh. The winter blues were already taking a toll on him. In other news, Dipper's Grunkles already had a plan to escape the winter, which apparently was a tradition for the twins. All he could get out of Stanley was, "My brother and I go back on the sea for a while during Oregon's snowfalls to come to, I don't know, Mexico sometimes."

Go on a boating trip to hot countries in order to escape the winter. Smart, if Will would say so himself. 

He sunk deeper into the lawn chair. Now if only he could convince them to take him on the Stan O' War. And perhaps a certain brunet as well.

"So why won't you just abandon the gift shop for today? The only people coming in to pay are old grandmas paying for a one dollar bobblehead," Will mused. It was a legit question. No one in their right mind would keep working if they didn't have to. 

"The same reason why you haven't brutally murdered Damon yet," Wendy shrugged. "It's a plan, but not a good one, you get me?"

Will grunted in reply. If he had the energy in him, he would have told her that no, not really- the only reason why he hadn't killed Damon yet was because he couldn't find the right moment yet, and if he did, he would have done it in a flash. 

There was a difference between murdering someone and getting rid of them. At least in his book. 

"C'mon, Red! I'm bored here. There's nothing to do inside the Shack because Stan is nodding his head off and Sixer is working on some mumbo-jumbo stuff in his stupid basement. Just close up the shop and take us to the mall or something," Will complained. 

"First of all, I'm not your chaperon, Will. I can't just take you wherever you want just 'cause you wanted me to," Wendy told him. She huffed, blowing her short bangs out of her face. "And no, I'm not closing up the shop until I really have to."

"And what reasons would you be closing up then?" Will challenged. The last time he saw her, she was a rebellious teenager who would do anything to get off work. Why would she ever want to keep it open?

Wendy opened her mouth, then closed it shut like a bear trap. Then she shrugged, giving a simple reply of, "Reasons."

"You need to be more specific that that, Red," he pointed out dryly. 

"Reasons that you might kill me for but like at the same time."

"Oh, so you're trying to kill Damon then?"

"Uh- no. Look, as much as you hate Damon, I don't. He's a nice kid and my colleague, I can't just-" Wendy said, throwing her arms up. 

"-blah blah blah. Damon's this, Damon's that- I know, I know, _jeez._ He's like those annoying perfect straight A students at school that everyone keeps talking about and some people get pissed off about," Will huffed. He paused, looking up at the ceiling. His lips curled to the side in a smirk. 

"But I see that he's having trouble with the straight part," he drawled. 

Wendy looked unimpressed. "Was that joke really necessary?" 

"Your friends would have appreciated it!" he argued. 

"It's scarily accurate to how true that is," Wendy chuckled. She drummed her fingers on the countertop, looking just as bored as Will was. She heaved a sigh, propping her head on a hand that looked much like what Will had looked. Silence fell over them like a sheet, nothing making a single sound in the shop. No one came into the shop, no one cooed over the new installments, no one bothered them, and the outside world was one hundred percent quiet. 

Well, that is until William decided to speak. 

His voice came out soft and nimble, something a demon- _person,_ like him wouldn't sound like. But it happened, and it made him cringe the moment the words came out of mouth. "Do you think Dipper would have loved me if he knew what happened between us?"

Will wasn't the only one surprised by how genuine he sounded. Wendy Corduroy glanced at him, just for a brief moment. Will had already seen the surprise passed through her face before she even spoke. "Well, that depends, man. I don't know what happened between you two and why exactly you decided to run off like that. But considering how stressed he was, I'm guessing..." Wendy sucked on her bottom lip, thinking for a while. 

"No," she finally settled.

"Figured," Will mumbled, sinking lower and lower into his chair. He folded his hands over his stomach, wondering why on earth he even _asked_ that question. He possessed Dipper at the age of twelve and harmed his body, gave him paranoia throughout his teen years, killed his twin, drove him into madness, forced him to _suicide-_ what person in their right mind would love a person like that?  What person would ever even endure that?

"Alright, look," Wendy huffed, turning her head to face him. "Your depression is rubbing off me. You need to pull yourself together if you're serious about trying to make Dipper fall in love with you."

"You think I haven't tried? I've tried everything!" Will exclaimed, throwing his arms up. "I sent him anonymous flowers and plainly hinted they were from me, I massage his shoulders every time he comes home from work and listen to him ramble about his students -which includes a really annoying guy named Jason by the way-, I make him breakfast once in a while, I make him coffee, I even bought him new books! _Books,_ Wendy! Then-!"

"Do you seriously do all that?" Wendy asked him in disbelief. 

"Well _obviously_!" Will said. He gave Wendy a lost look. "What do you humans even be wooed by nowadays? Back then, it was only flowers then asking the father for their hand in marriage then that was the end of the story, but apparently I can't since-"

"First of all, set your priorities straight." Wendy unstuck her elbow from the counter, standing up straighter while she watched Will almost in irritation. "Dipper is...uh...the kind of dude who wouldn't notice someone is hitting on them until you put a sign over your head with neon lights and address him directly. Actually, I think that wouldn't even go through his head," Wendy added thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes at the ceiling. 

"Great. The guy I'm hopelessly in love with can't even take a hint that I am," Will said wryly. He was so sunken in his chair that he could probably lay down on the floor if he wanted to. "That, and he's in love with _someone else._ " A bitter tone wasn't enough to describe the pure malice in his voice. 

"Come on, it's not that bad," Wendy cooed. "You just have to make Dipper fall in love! While he's dating someone. Even though Dipper firmly believes in never cheating. And he's extremely attached to Damon...and you left him...and brained-washed him...and..." Wendy frowned. 

"Yeah okay, it's that bad," she said in pity. 

Will winced. Not to mention he killed his sister. And destroyed his mind. He sighed, dragging a hand over his face tiredly. He couldn't tell Wendy that though, or his only ally would most definitely go to the enemy's side. 

"Why Damon? Why would Dipper even choose _him?_ What does that loser have that I don't?! I could literally make him the king of his universe, or kill any enemy he wants gone, or-!" Will moaned. 

"First of all, it's not what you can do that would woo Dipper, it's what you didn't," Wendy cut off. She narrowed her eyes at him. "He tried killing himself as soon as you left, from what I heard. Then Damon was the one who helped him recover and helped him get through panic attacks. I don't know about you, man, but any person would fall for someone who cares about them like that. And what did you do when you two were dating?" she asked. She sounded like a scolding mother, judging Will's intents. 

"Just spoiled him, basically," Will answered breezily. _And killed his sister and made him lose his mind, oh you know!_ he would have added. Not to mention the fact that he planned to throw his body down the water town when Dipper was twelve. 

"See? That's the problem, Will!" Wendy exclaimed, waving her arms in frustration.

"What?"

"You're acting like you _want_ him!" Wendy continued, almost seeming frustrated that an all-knowing dream demon wasn't catching on to her words. It wasn't _his_ fault that he didn't get humans! "You need to act like you _need_ him, dude."

Will raised an eyebrow, slowly but surely. "And how exactly do I...do that?" he questioned, just as carefully. Didn't he already made it clear he needed Dipper?

Wendy groaned, facepalming to how stupid he was being. She huffed, two fingers to her temple. Then she pointed at him, crossly. "There's one stupid reason why Damon is beating you in your own race and that's because he acts like he needs Dipper in his life. Don't shower him with flowers, or pepper him with kisses, just- I don't know, be there for him! Give him your jacket when he's cold, drive him from work, text him if he hasn't came home in hours, just _show him,_ William."

"I know for a fact that you're being serious if you call me _William,_ " Will answered dryly. He played with his thumbs on his stomach, twiddling them like some fourth grader in trouble. "And what has Damon done recently that made Dipper think he still cares? For uh, research of course." 

Wendy looked like she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes and smile at the same time, her lips pressed together tightly. "I'm not actually sure," she admitted. She paused, a shadow passing over her face. Her brow furrowed, her eyes clouding over like she was thinking hard about something, which wasn't really Wendy Corduroy's forte. 

"And hey, I don't think he's done anything when they started dating either. It's like Damon and Dipper just...started dating, out of the blue."

"What do you mean?" Will asked her, sounding bored and disinterested. But he was definitely interested. 

"Well, after the whole saving thing, everyone in Gravity Falls sent Dipper cards and balloons and everything, you know? Damon was always there right beside Dipper like some tough guy bodyguard. But he never really...did anything," Wendy said slowly. Her confused, suspicious look morphed into her normal chilled look, her hand coming up to mess up her pixie cut. She laughed. 

"Right. Dipper's shy. They probably made out in Dipper's room after dates or something," Wendy laughed. "You should know. When the two of you started dating, Dipper wouldn't-"

Laughter filled the gift shop, the little tinkle of a bell announcing the arrival of new customers. 

Or, in this case, Dipper Pines and his stupid boyfriend, Damon. 

Dipper sported a faded orange t-shirt and navy leggings, something someone shouldn't wear on a cold day like this. Damon, on the other hand, wore a snugly blue jacket and jeans, his hands inside his jacket pockets while he laughed with Dipper. How a boyfriend could just ignore the fact that their date is wearing nothing but a t-shirt, Will didn't know. 

He glowered instantly, his mood dropping to a whooping zero. "What are _they_ doing here?" he whispered to Wendy, leaning in towards the girl and sitting up straighter for the sake of the brunet. Dipper should be at work, from what he knew. 

"He's substituted a class today. His work is shorter if he just covers for another teacher," Wendy whispered back. She lifted up a hand in greeting, waving the two boys over towards them. "What's up, you two!"

"Ah, Wendy!" Damon greeted, waving a hand back in greeting. He snaked his arm around Dipper, almost possessively as they walked over. "How's the gift shop holding up? Not much business today?"

"Oh, you won't believe it," Wendy snorted. "The only thing I sold today was a pine tree hat and a bobblehead."

Damon laughed. He nudged Dipper. "Guess somebody is being Dipper out there with that pine tree hat, huh babe?" he chuckled. Dipper smiled, almost modestly. In return, Will scowled. Has literally everyone on this planet forgotten that he was wearing Dipper's old hat?

Damon was the first one who noticed. The guy looked at him up and down, sneering when he saw the battered hat on his head. Beside him, Dipper tensed up, opening his mouth when he saw his boyfriend staring at Will's head. But Damon beat him to it, his words coated with a jeer. "I see that this guy doesn't have enough money to spend it on a new pine tree hat so he bought it from behind the dumpster."

Will almost chuckled. _Oh, no, this is actually from your boyfriend, Dipper Pines, who gave it to me willingly and your stupid ass didn't even notice his old hat!_ He was more than tempted to actually say it, but Wendy didn't let him.

"Anyway," Wendy said slowly. She stepped on Will's foot from behind the counter. "Are the two of you going anywhere? Anywhere at all in the next few hours?" she questioned.

"Not today, Wendy," Dipper answered. "I was actually planning to catch up on the books on my shelf today, since I have some free time. Nice plan for the last day of fall until the great drought of snow, am I right?" he chuckled.

"Oh, that's great!" Wendy exclaimed. The three boys looked at her in confusion. "Oh, uh, I mean, well," she said, coughing awkwardly. She gave Dipper a sheepish smile. 

"It's the last day of fall, isn't it? Why not go somewhere?"

Dipper and Damon shared glances. They looked back at Wendy, who looked like she was trying her best not to blurt something out. "Well, I don't see the point," Dipper said, shrugging, "sure it might be, but Grunkle Stan just asked me to-"

"Great! So you're free?" Wendy blurted. 

"Yep," Damon answered for him. He grinned, almost obnoxiously, at Wendy. He pulled Dipper closer to his side, making Dipper snort under his breath in amusement. Will scowled. "Why?"

"I was thinking the four of us should go somewhere today. You know, before the great depression of winter starts," Wendy suggested. She fished something out of her back pocket, slamming four tickets down on the counter. Everyone leaned in to see them. The tickets stared back at Will, the words 'Come visit us at the National Zoo!' popping off the white paper. 

"The zoo? The nearest one is in Portland, we can't just-" Dipper frowned. 

Wendy rolled her eyes, and turned the tickets over. The address was just less than an hour away from where they were, a place right outside of Gravity Falls. They were closing today, and the closing party was tonight, meaning the tickets were extremely cheap. 

"I have three extra tickets and I thought you three dumbasses would like to come with. Tambry, Robbie, and Nate dropped out because they all had work, so now I'm left with these bad boys," Wendy announced proudly. "Are you guys in or what?"

Will watched Dipper out of the corner of his eye, waiting for the brunet to start talking before he did. He had to admit, a zoo was interesting, but going alone was not. Thankfully, Dipper just simply nodded. "I got nothing else to do so I guess I'm in," Dipper said. 

"Then I'm going too," Damon and Will said at the exact same time. 

They glared at each other out of the corners of their eyes, much to Wendy's amusement and Dipper's confusion. Seeing that Dipper was watching them with a small frown, they dropped their glares away from each other and turned them to the tickets on the counter, still looking disgruntled and moody as ever. 

Wendy smirked, elbowing Will as he stood up from his spot on the chair. "Well, now since that's settled, I think you three should get ready," Wendy said, lips curling up when Will scowled at her childishly. 

"Yeah, I need to take a shower. Mr. Gallagher's students exploded the laboratory today and made me smell like vinegar all day," Dipper agreed. He shrugged off his coat, handing it over to a crabby Damon. He pecked his boyfriend on the lips, promising he'll be back down to the gift shop to be ready to go. Damon watched him go, a small smile on his lips.

William didn't even realize that the counter was heating up until Wendy yelped, ripping her palms away from the boiling counter. He stepped away and inhaled, holding his breath until the counter's temperature dropped back to normal. Smoke curled into the air, disappearing soon after he exhaled and controlled his anger. 

He seriously needed to get a grip. It was just one peck on the lips. He was fine. 

"Well- er," Damon began awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He smiled warmly at Wendy. "I'll just go ahead and change out and watch if Dipper needs any help uh...cleaning up in the bathroom." 

"We'll be right here," Wendy promised.

"Good." He high-fived Wendy and made his way back upstairs, not before bumping into Will's shoulder as always. But unlike before, he grabbed Will's forearm, his nails digging into skin and leaving red indents.

"You try anything with my boyfriend and I'll have you personally skinned," Damon hissed in his ear. Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

"Fine. Whatever," Will hissed back, roughly pulling his arm away from Damon's grasp. Damon gladly let go, giving Will one last look of disapproval before disappearing back upstairs. 

Smiling, Will uncrossed his fingers from behind his back. "No promises," he chirped, quiet enough that Damon didn't hear him from coming up the stairs. 

"What was that about?" Wendy asked, rubbing her left hand's palm with her other hand. 

"It's what I like to call a love triangle," Will told her, scowling at the door. He turned his head back to look at her. "So that was your plan? To bring the four of us to the zoo so I could get closer to Dipper?" Will asked, changing the subject. His scowl deepened. "You do realize that you're just setting up a date for Dipper and Damon?"

"First, stop scowling so much. I can't believe I'm saying this but you need to act like you're the overlord of the universe for Dipper to learn to like real you," Wendy said. She gave Will a pointed look. "And anyway, I'm Wendy Corduroy. I'm the master of relationships, believe me. Mabel appointed the title to me." 

Will scoffed, but a small smile replaced his scowl. "I'll believe it when I see it, Red." 

He stretched his arm, yawning lazily. He took one of the tickets off the counter and stuffed it in his pocket, taking off his pine tree hat and dropping it to the little secret miscellaneous box underneath where the cash register was. Wendy watched him warily. 

"Didn't Dipper give you that hat?" 

"I don't want to wear a dirty hat out there. Makes me look unclean," Will said. He flattened his hair, his promise ring getting caught on one particular tangled curl. He tugged, huffing under his breath in frustration. Rings. They literally get stuck in everything and anything.

Wendy helped him pull it out with a snort of laughter. "Just admit it," she teased, punching William's bicep, "you don't want to bring the pine tree hat along because you're scared one of the monkeys are going to take it, aren't you?"

He rubbed his sore bicep. The throbbing pain woke him up faster than any shot of coffee Dipper pushed him to have. "God save the Queen if one of them tried to take my Dipper away from me." 

And he wasn't just talking about the monkeys.

* * *

"That...kind of scarred me for life."

"That's the point," Will snorted, shoving another handful of popcorn into his mouth. "You think they'd put the tarantula on your palm just to make you laugh?"

Damon glowered at him, angrily plucking Dipper's blue cotton candy and shoving the piece into his mouth. The scene looked way too comical for Will not to smirk, causing the other boy to glower even darker. "Excuse me, but you literally refused to hold one when the trainer asked you!" Damon snapped.

"That's because the poor spider looked scared enough as it is from your girly screams, _d_ _u_ _dumme F_ _otze_ _,_ " said Will, dryly. 

Wendy choked on her soda, doubling over in laughter as she clamped a hand over her nose and mouth to stop any liquid from coming out. Dipper smiled tightly, dropping it when Damon glanced at him for a brief moment. Will's smirk turned into a grin, plucking his own pink cotton candy and stuffing it into his mouth almost lazily. They walked down the boardwalk, koi fish tailing underneath them in packs in the ponds. An old lady threw food down to them while she sat on a bench, like something straight out of a movie. 

"Weren't you the one who asked to sit out holding the baby snake during the educational child presentation on reptiles?" Damon challenged. 

Will shot him a look. "It had red eyes!" he argued. "Do you even realize what red eyes mean?!" he screeched, causing their tiny little group to laugh louder. 

"Right, sure. At least most sensible people would run away from a tarantula, you low-key ran from a baby!" Damon sneered.

"Damon," Dipper laughed, slamming Damon's greaser hat over his eyes teasingly. "Don't tease him too much. William probably doesn't like it."

"What? Why not? He just did the exact same thing to me!" Damon argued, waving his arms in frustration towards Will. Will smiled innocently at Dipper when he looked over at what Damon was waving at, his smile convincing Dipper long enough for the brunet to slap his boyfriend over the head again.

"Ah, that, buddy ol' pal, is because us Germans like to tease each other. Especially the tough guys who go out drinking together at local pubs," Will chirped. He elbowed Damon in the ribs, maybe just a tad bit more roughly than was was considered "friendly". Damon narrowed his eyes at him, daring him to do it again in front of Dipper so he could show Will what he can do.

Wendy snorted when Damon finally looked away, sidling up next to Will to his left. "We literally just came here, bought cotton candy on the way, and are on the way to the rescued tigers, and you and Damon already have beef." Wendy shook her head. "I swear you two fight more than alley cats and my brothers _combined._ "

"That wouldn't be hard to believe," Will shrugged. He plopped more sugary content into his mouth, letting it turn into nothing but flavored saliva in his mouth before he continued. "So do you have a plan or not? The two love birds are getting it on quicker than I can at a bar." 

He nodded at Dipper and Damon, who both were fooling around with the cotton candy near the edge of the boardwalk. He could push Damon into the ponds below if he wanted to. 

"Patience come to those who wait," Wendy recited, turning her voice to sound like an old karate master as she lifted one finger. 

Will grunted. "I've been patient for two weeks. Don't you think that's long enough?"

"Ehhh..." Wendy shrugged. "Look, just chill. As soon as we get to the tigers, Wendy Corduroy's amazing plan to get you some Pines booty will commence, alright? Just wait a little longer. Then you get to do the rest." She ended her words with an elbow to Will's ribs, winking at him.

"Do the re-?"

They all cringed when a loud squawk punctured the air, the birds in the trees flying off to another direction. "How much are you _willing_ to bet that the eagle for the bird show is being trained right now?" Wendy said, wrinkling her nose as she smelled the air. The smell of dung and dust was over-taking their noses, probably due to the fact that the tigers were coming closer and closer.

"Did you just make a pun with my name?" Will asked. 

"Unintentionally." Wendy grinned. "But puns are eternal," she added merrily. 

He shook his head and chuckled, stuffing the last of the cotton candy into his mouth. Chirps and wild life buzzed all around them, making William's body feeling alive from his toes to his fingertips. He was this close to taking over the world. He was this close to having every animal in here and everywhere to be his pets and to have them roam around. He was this close to having every dimension and monster to have the times of their lives and have them worship him and only him. 

He was this close, and one stupid human in a greaser hat just _had_ to ruin it. 

"If you're daydreaming about being overlord of Gravity Falls again, just give it a rest," Wendy sighed. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, her boots squishing against the wetness of the recently cleaned boardwalk.

"What gave it away?" Will asked. He threw the stick for the cotton candy in a nearby trashcan, shaking his hand when he came back with a bug on his palm. He was starting to hate this place and he was going to burn it down real soon if they didn't get any action around here.

"You get this faraway look when you're daydreaming about deep stuff," Wendy explained. She contorted her face, her brow furrowed and bottom lip jutting out in intimation of Will. Then she snorted, changing her face back to what it was before, looking up at Will. "The only thing you'd be thinking about with that kind of look is..." She nodded at Dipper, who was feeding Damon with cotton candy with his own fingers, laughing when Damon pretended to chomp down. 

"When I'm thinking about him," Will finished bitterly. He almost tripped on a hole in the planks when he glowered at the couple instead of looking down.

"Oh, and no offense dude, but you kind of get that look a lot at the gift shop when you're just chilling beside me while I work," Wendy chuckled. She pulled out her left hand from her pocket, shaking it out due to the tiny spider that landed there. "Either you think about world domination a lot or you're crazy about him."

"Last one," Will sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from the sweat that was collecting to his hairline. "I just don't get humans, Red. You guys fall in love with other people even though you're not soulmates. You humans think you care about each other then drop the relationship or wedding or date the moment you see someone more pleasing. Why?"

"Well uh..." Wendy began, unsure how to answer Will's question. She stared at Dipper and Damon for a long while before she responded, actually intending to give Will a legitimate answer. 

"Some people like the feeling of being in love, I guess," Wendy shrugged. "Kissing, cuddling, having sex, _feeling_ love- that kind of sentimental stuff. Probably why I kept jumping from one boyfriend to the next until I hit college. I sure as hell would rather be in a fake relationship than be alone, you know? It feels nice."

"Nice," Will mumbled, testing the word on his tongue. He lowered his eyes from the laughing couple, before it was too late and he saw them share a more intimate moment. Being with Dipper was probably the best moments of his life. The warmth that came with touching him, the tingles when they kissed, the excited adrenaline when Dipper came home, or even the small whispered chats in the middle of the night. He didn't get why everyone said love was like a drug until he felt it for the first time. It wasn't just addicting and adrenaline-filled, like the first shot of cocaine. He _thought_ that's what everyone meant- addicting and excitement all around until it ran out. 

But just like drugs, too much love can kill.

He squeezed his eyes shut when he heard their laughter die down, hearing Damon joke with Dipper before the brunet laughed and planted a loud smacking kiss on Damon's cheek. 

"Do you think Dipper wanted to be with him because he missed it?" Will croaked out. His eyes fluttered open in silent surprise when the pond next to them splashed, followed by cursing from Damon since Dipper had just thrown his key into the lake. Dipper cackled with laughter. 

Wendy stayed silent, and he was afraid for a moment that she didn't hear him. But she responded, her words quiet and slow, like she didn't know herself. "Missed being in love, you mean? Yeah. I don't just believe it- I know it. But I don't think he knew what he was getting into when he met Damon. But it's a good thing. He's...happier."

Will sighed. "I can see that," he grumbled, nodding his head to the laughing couple. Grimacing, he turned his gaze to the red-headed girl. "So? Is your plan for me to 'get the Pines booty' going to initiate or what, Red?"

Wendy couldn't help but snort. "Booty," she snickered, putting a hand over her mouth, "it's really funny when you say it."

He rolled his eyes. "You humans and your stupid humor," he mumbled. "Try taking off an exoskeleton to eat excrement. Now _that's_ humor."

In response, Wendy slapped his back good-naturely, almost making Will stumble forward from the force of it. "Ah, don't be such an asshole, Will. You're here to get closer to your hubby. Enjoy it while it lasts, man!" She grinned, forcing Will's head to look up from the floor with a fist under his chin. 

They were at the heart of the zoo, the caws of the birds louder and the clicks of cameras blinding. "Leave it to me," Wendy said, answering Will's silent question. 

"Hey, Dipper! Damon!" Wendy called out, waving at the couple. Instantly, the two of them looked at her, their hands entwined and suppressed grins on their faces like they just shared inside jokes. She waved them over with a hand, almost impatiently. Will sure was. 

"Sup. Need anything from us?" Damon asked, squeezing Dipper's hand affectionately (Will almost made a face), "Dipper and I were just going to the bird show together. Do you guys wanna come?"

Wendy's face was just one look of _well I fucked up._ "Oh." Her laugh sounded a little nervous. Will glanced over at her with narrowed eyes, wondering where she was even trying to go with this. "Well- uh- the bird show doesn't start for another hour. Why not, I don't know, look at another place instead?"

"Smooth," Will commented under his breath. That earned him an elbow to the ribs. 

"Oh, we just want to save some good seats," Dipper said with a shrug. "I heard that if you sit in a particular seat, you get a better chance on being called down for volunteering. Do you know how amazing it would be for me to study a macaw that close?" His eyes sparkled with the thought, the nerd in him probably freaking out inside. 

" _Well_ ," Wendy said, drawing out the word. "How about Damon and I go save you those seats, Dipper? And you could go study something more, uh- exotic?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I never-" Damon interrupted, brow furrowed in confusion. 

"What kind of exotic?" Dipper questioned. He quirked an eyebrow, interested in what his friend had to say. A curious person, but what Pines wasn't? To their surprise, Dipper let go of Damon's hand to pull out a notepad and pen from his orange breast pocket. He clicked it, scribbling something down almost furiously. "Looking at some endangered animals would be nice. My class needs to learn the anatomy of big cats too, so that would be an added bo-"

"Big cats!" Wendy blurted out. " _Uhh_ \- I mean- yeah! The tigers. I mean. Wouldn't tigers be nice for your research, Dipper?" She batted her eyelashes innocently. 

"Well uh- yeah, actually. Why, is there some at the sanctuary?" Dipper frowned. He looked up from his notepad, looking around the busy circle of trees and bustling people around them like a tiger would just suddenly pop up.

"More," Wendy confirmed. She patted Will's back again. "My friend Will here told me back in the car that he used to work with tigers back in Germany! Wrestled some too! Would be nice if you had a tour, right Dipper?" she added, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Dipper just looked even more confused. Will had to admit that he got lost as well. "But there aren't any tigers in Germany," he said in confusion. He paused. "Unless there's sanctuaries there too...?"

Wendy pinched the small of his back, making Will yelp. When Wendy glared at him out of the corner of her eye, Will coughed, nodding his head almost vigorously. "Oh yeah! Yeah! A bunch! Many! You won't believe how many tigers there are in my old zoo!"

"How many?" Damon inquired, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

" _Einundzwanzig?"_ he answered, but it came out more like a question. 

Damon grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you had said _nein_ I swear to God I would-"

"Alright, perfect! Come on, Damon, let's go find your boyfriend his dream spot, huh?" Wendy interrupted, taking said person's hand. Damon yelped, being dragged away against his will by a crazy lumberjack girl. 

"Wait, I never agreed to this! I can't just leave my boyfriend with that-" Damon cried. 

"Yes you can. He'll be fine," Wendy sang. She looked behind them, winking at Will and mouthing _good luck._ She turned her attention back to the struggling co-worker trying to unhinge himself from Wendy's strong grip on his bicep. "C'mon, we need to talk about those stock prices," she said seriously, narrowing her eyes in a way that made Damon shut up.

They walked away, leaving Will with a furiously scribbling Dipper. Damon threw his head backwards, giving Will that _I'm watching you_ gesture before he was unceremoniously dragged away with a yelp. It reminded Will of a grandmother dragging their grandson away after misbehaving in class. And the thought made him split into a shit-eating grin. 

"What are you writing down?" he finally asked, leaning in towards Dipper to see what he was writing down. The date was written out on top, followed by his ever-growing list of animals. "Animals at the zoo?" he guessed. 

Sighing, Dipper clicked his pen and stuffed both the pen and tiny notepad into his breast pocket. "Sort of," he admitted. "Animals I want to see here, basically. First on the list are the tigers. So, Mr. Tiger Tamer, where do we find them?"

Will smiled. He jutted out his elbow towards Dipper. "Follow me, good sir," he said in a terrible, terrible English accent. 

Dipper laughed, taking his elbow after jokingly saying that Will only needed a mustache and top hat and he'd be a true gentleman. Will only chuckled, leading him to the opposite sidewalk that Wendy and Damon had taken. And no, he didn't know where the tigers were. 

Panicking, he looked over Dipper's head and found his savior. A whole map of the zoo, laid out right in a simple enough format. His eyes scanned it as quickly as he could, cursing some of the guests for getting in the way of the sign. Finding that the tigers were very near, he relaxed.

"Are you sure your jealous prick of a boyfriend wouldn't mind you holding onto my elbow like this?" Will chuckled, nudging Dipper's side teasingly. He made it sound like a joke, but he was honestly extremely curious.

"Eh, let him be jealous," Dipper shrugged. "And besides, you wouldn't try anything. You're William," he added with a bark of laughter. 

 _Ah yes, because I'm William,_ he mused. "And how about you? You don't think it's awkward that we're alone for the first time in weeks?" He chuckled to lighten the mood.

"I kinda miss it," Dipper admitted. They weaved through the crowd, the other folks surging in the other direction for whatever show was going on in that direction. Wonderful. They'll have the tigers all to themselves. "Where were you?"

Blinking, Dipper's question finally came through his brain. "The Shack. I never leave the house, you know that."

"No, I mean like-" He sighed, massaging his eyelids with two fingers. Clearly the young human was tired, probably from the lack of sleep of correcting papers all night. "Where _were_ you? When I enter the same room as you, you'd automatically stop laughing or do whatever the hell you're doing and just- leave. Damon told me he was worried about you when I asked him about it too." Will almost scoffed. As if Damon would ever be worried about him. 

"If I made you upset, I'm sorry," Will whispered. "I just come down to help your Great Uncle sometimes. Monster Tracker thing and all." It was half the truth, at least. 

"Nah, I'm not upset," Dipper said. His lips tugged down in a small frown. "Just confused. Look, if you're uncomfortable living at the Shack, I could happily arrange for you to live in a nearby apartment and check up once in a while if you're-"

"No!" he blurted out.

Dipper glanced at him. "I just mean-" Will blinked. "I'm fine. Really. The Shack's a great place to stay in, if I do say so myself." He cracked a smile, hoping that Dipper would buy it and not question his intentions.

The human slipped his arm away from Will's elbow, Will dropping his arm almost immediately in slight disappointment. It was short-lived, as Dipper quickly told hold of Will's hand and squeezed it. Immediately, Will's hand began to sweat more than he ever would on the hottest day of summer. Curse human bodies and their useless mechanics. 

"Wouldn't your boyfriend-?" Will chuckled, his voice somehow one octave higher.

"-be a jealous prick?" Dipper guessed. He rolled his eyes, tugging Will out of the way when a mother and her stroller came by their way. "I told you, let him. For some reason, he's been extremely protective of me recently. I don't know why. But it's his punishment," he continued proudly, a twinkle in his eyes that Will recognized as mischief. 

"Ah, the good ol' you're-being-over-protective-so-it's-pay-back revenge. Lovely," Will chuckled, in return tugging Dipper closer to his side when he almost slipped on a well-hidden wire on the ground. 

"That's...oddly specific," Dipper noted. 

"You hook up with some guys down the road and tell me if you don't run into any problems."

"Oh."

They became quiet, the crowd and buzz around them thinning by every step. People of all ages, whether they were mothers, tourists, or even children, made way for Dipper and Will, almost warily. He had thought it was out of respect, due to the fact that they were the only ones going in the other direction. But on closer inspection, they were all looking at Will almost in...recognition. 

The squints, the head tilts, the murmurs to their friends- there was no doubt most of them recognized him a little. By his hair, or his build, heck maybe even his oddly cream yellow blazer in the middle of fall might've given him away. 

So he lowered his eyes, but people still kept mumbling about him. Most particularly, about Dipper. Murmurs about Dipper cheating on Damon with him, or Dipper's status, or even Dipper's well-being. But Dipper himself kept his chin held high, eyes set forward and giving no sign that he heard any of their conversations aside from his clenched jaw. 

When Will thought about letting go of Dipper's hand to save him from the gossip, as Dipper Pines was an infamous name around here, Dipper squeezed his hand, eyes flickering over to Will for a brief moment before he lead them to the path where a sign told them the tigers were. 

The moment he had smiled in gratitude for the stubborn brunet, the moment he had felt his heart fall even deeper in love with this stupid young human, if that was in anyway possible, something invisible squeezed the sides of his head, applying pressure to the point it felt like gigantic needles pressing in by force. His temples throbbed with the pain, causing him to hiss under his breath. Even inhaling soon became a problem. 

Quickly, he let go of Dipper's hand, hands clamping down on each side of his head so he could squeeze himself, like applying more pressure would ultimately make it go away. But it didn't, as it just made things so much worse. 

The vision of him looking down on his own shoes blurred, giving him sight of not two, but six feet. He felt the acid rise in his throat, and he forced it down as quickly as he could. 

"-am? William? Are you okay?" Dipper asked. He took hold on Will's shoulder, forcing him to lean against his body with a grunt. He patted Will's shoulder, trying to get him to talk without using too much force. "Will, come on. What's up with you? Will!" he snapped.

For the briefest of moments, Will gained control of his body again, just long enough for him to spot the park bench just a few feet away. He stumbled towards it like a newborn deer, Dipper quickly catching on and helping him walk over with Will's body pressed against his. 

Then he grunted as he sat down on the bench, slumping against the farthest arm rest. He rubbed at his eyes with his fingers, his elbow propped against the cool metal. A groan escaped his lips, feeling the pain become from sharp stabbing tension to dull throbbing, like the morning after a night drinking. But about three times worst. 

Quietly, Dipper sat on the other end of the bench, not once making contact with Will as he rummaged through the string backpack he brought with him. Will closed his eyes as tightly as he could, feeling one particular throb hit him like a hammer to the side. He almost let a yelp escape his lips from it. 

"Here, here. Just swallow it. I- I don't have any water with me so you just gotta-" Dipper said, his words coated with panic as he forced Will's arm out to place a pill in the middle of his palm. He gently pushed Will's fingers around the pill before dropping his arm, his breathing almost as bad as Will's.

Will gulped the golf-sized lump in his throat, lifting his head warily before he brought his palm to his lips, tilting it to let the pill slid into his mouth. Then he swallowed it dry, feeling it slide down his throat as hard as the bile was in his throat. The moment it got into his system, his stomach churned, making him feel warm from the inside out.

"What- was that Tylenol?" Will croaked out. It hurt to talk. 

Dipper smiled warily at him, swinging the backpack back on his shoulder. "No," he said sheepishly. He scrunched up his shoulders, as if Will would yell at him if he said it wasn't. "It's my Grunkle Ford's medicine. I...sometimes get panic attacks and massive headaches because of it if I'm not careful so he invented pills that would make a person feel better instantly. He hasn't tested it on any other person but him and I though."

Will gently placed a hand on his stomach, scooting closer to the edge of the bench as he blinked. He had to give it to Sixer. He really _did_ feel better, as if the headache clusters were never there.

"Your uncle is quite the inventor, I see," Will commented softly. That was the first time in ages since he genuinely praised Stanford Pines. 

Dipper smiled. "I know. I helped him create it too," he said proudly. 

Will chuckled, bracing himself with hands on the bench before he got up. But his head felt like it was clubbed to the side when he did, so he eased his body back down with a grunt. "Okay, maybe this stuff should give me time to recover," he moaned, slumping back against the wooden frame. 

His partner laughed at him, Dipper himself getting up from the bench with ease. He looked at Will's crippled form for a moment before he walked a few steps to the sign next to the bench, one hand under his chin as he always had it when he was reading something. "You do know that the bench you're sitting on had a person die on it, right?"

Will grinned. "Nice," he nodded. 

Dipper snorted. "Apparently, he and his wife used to go here all the time to visit the giraffe that would hang his head over here to be fed by them. They called the giraffe a blessing giver since he would always-"

"Oookay, thank you for the lecture, Dipper, but I'm more than good for now," Will interrupted, waving a hand almost drunkenly in Dipper's direction. It just made the brunet snicker, his eyes still going back and forth to read the boring old text on the stone.

Will, on the other hand, dedicated his precious time as a human being to enduring what they called, ah, headaches. 

He swore to every single dimension that this particular world did this to spite him. 

He rubbed each side of his temples, inhaling deeply before exhaling through his mouth. He kept his eyes closed, trying to focus on the bright side of things before he lost his cool and banged his head against the stone. Good news; he was with Dipper and Dipper alone for the first time in weeks. Bad news; he was wasting his time with having a headache.

Something wet and rough ran down the side of his face. 

In surprise, Will opened his eyes, turning his head to the source of the feeling to see eye to eye with a giraffe. He yelped, trying his best to move away to his left until he realized, well- there was nothing but a metal arm rest to his left and a giraffe to his right. 

Dipper laughed at his reaction, almost doubling over in laughter because of it. Will grumbled, his body relaxing as soon as it realized that there was no danger save for the overly affectionate gigantic-necked animal. Dipper's laugh was more like a cackle if he tried hard enough. 

"Well- I guess you- you found the giraffe," Dipper got out, his words stippled by his laughter. 

Curiously, Will looked behind him, and finally noticed that behind the bench was a gigantic pit for the giraffes in the sanctuary. The yellow long-necked horse looking devil looked behind with him, then they both looked at each other in bemusement at the same time. 

"What do you _want_?" Will asked in annoyance. The stupid thing wouldn't go away.

In response, it just licked the side of his face with a gray tongue. 

Dipper burst into laughter, leaning his weight against the propped stone slab in case he fell down from laughing so hard. He even pounded on the side of it, just about close to tears when he realized that the tongue had affected Will's hair to make it stand up straight. 

"Well," Will grumbled, lightly trying to pull the hair down, "I guess cow licks don't describe my type of hair, huh?" His hair stayed down for a good three seconds before it sprang back up. 

For some reason, the giraffe seemed to laugh with Dipper as Will sulked, crossing his arms like a four year old over his chest. "It's not funny!" he complained, but he smiled nonetheless from how cute Dipper looked when he smiled. He didn't even notice that his headache went away. 

He only noticed Dipper's dimples. And how breathtaking his smile was. And how his laugh made his stomach knot. And how-

The giraffe bumped into his cheek, before it snorted and gave Will a look. "Yeah okay, okay, you don't have to tell me I'm whipped, _I know,_ " Will said in exasperation. 

"Wh- what?" Dipper snickered, looking up at him. There was a confused smile on his face. 

Freezing up, Will glanced at the giraffe. It looked back at him with a somewhat amused look. "I said I was craving for some whipped cream," Will blurted out, looking back at Dipper. 

"Why in the hell would you-?"

"Aha! I have found my perfect candidate!" a thick-accented man whooped. 

Dipper and Will swiveled their heads to find a man with greased back hair and a bad case of a stalker mustache, holding up a camera and clicking it furiously in Will's direction. When Will shifted uncomfortable, the man shouted, "No no, that will not do! Stay still!"

So he did, just begrudgingly. His arms were swung behind the bench, his legs crossed. He probably looked unintentionally like a model posing, so he had to give the photographer that. Plus, come on, he was handsome, no doubt about it. Some record deal tried signing him up once in Massachusetts.  

It went on for a good minute before the photographer set down his camera to hang around his neck by the red cord, rubbing his hands together like a diabolic villain. "You! You are my new model for the day. What is your name?"

"Uh- William," Will said awkwardly.

"Ah, wonderful! Sexy name for a sexy man! And your last name?" the photographer asked again.

"I'd rather not say," Will answered stiffly. 

The photographer, instead of frowning at Will and pushing him, beamed instead. "Aye, wonderful, wonderful! Do you happen to be a model for someone else? I cannot work with taken art pieces you know!" he grinned. 

"Not that I...know of?" It came out as a question.

"Fantastic!" he cried, taking up his camera up to his face again. "Now, I am finished with my bad boy poses of you looking like you're going to chomp somebody's head off. Smile for the camera, Mr. William!"

Warily, and practically forcefully, Will smiled wobbly at the camera. 

The photographer's camera clicked once before he looked back up at Will, disappointed. "No, no! It looks much too forceful! Smile, genuinely! Think of puppies, your wife, your doughnut- I don't know!" 

Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes, removing his arms from behind the bench to lean forward with his elbows resting on his knees. The photographer seemed to like it, approving under his breath and nodding for Will to continue. 

But no matter how hard he tried, William's smile wasn't enough.

"No! Absolutely wrong! What is wrong with you, my boy? Tough break up or what?" the photographer asked in disbelief, looking up from the camera to wait for Will's answer. 

"I, ah-" Will stammered. 

"Nevermind that. Just think of something funny enough for you to smile, my goodness!" the man huffed, bringing the camera back up to his face.

Knowing that there was probably no way to get out of it, he huffed and forced another smile, causing the photographer to scream at him once again. He held back a retort, his eyes straying from the camera out of boredom. 

Dipper was the first thing he saw (shocker, right?). The brunet was crouching down, taking pictures with his own phone of the ant hills. He was so engrossed in his own picture-taking that he didn't realize that a leaf fell on his nose until he sniffed, and sniffed again until he gave one might sneeze. 

Which, by the way, had the force of a kitten. 

And the kitten-like sneeze was enough for him to bust out into a grin.

"Perfecto!" cried the photographer. "Wonderful, Mr. William! Look at the camera next! Yes, yes! Now look to your left- no, no, not completely, just tilt- yes! Haha, this is _fantastic,_ Mr. William!" 

After a dozen snapshots and more soon after, the photographer got up from his crouch in front of Will, a psychotic grin on his face like he won the lottery. He came forward and shook Will's hand excitedly. "Thank you, oh thank you! Is there anything I can repay with? Perhaps a year free subscription of my magazine? After all, there is a very good chance you will be on the front cover of it, sir!"

"Nah, I'm not into that kind of stuff. I can look at my face all day long in a mirror," Will quickly waved off. "But thanks for the offer, I guess. Look, I have to go, I have some important business to take care of, so-"

Almost as if the man sensed it, he glanced at where Will was looking at right before Will grinned and caught all those perfect shots for him. Of course, Dipper Pines was still taking slow pictures of the ant hills almost childishly in the corner and completely ignoring the conversation going on with them. The photographer smiled, maybe a little wistfully at that. 

"Ah, puppy love. I can see a hopeless romantic when I see it," he said softly. He untangled the camera's red cord from his neck and stuffed it in his messenger bag, ruffling through it without telling Will what he was doing. 

"Uh, I don't think anything you're doing is going to help-" Will told him slowly. 

"Oh, sir! _Monsieur!_ Brown-haired young man who keeps photographing the ground in the wrong landscape form!" he called out. A new camera was clutched in his hand as he waved with the other. 

Dipper's head snapped up in surprise. In embarrassment, he stuffed his phone back in his jean pocket. He smiled at them in slight confusion, eyes glancing over to Will. Will only shrugged at him. The giraffe nudged his face soon after. Damn it, he didn't even know the stupid thing was still there. 

"Come here, sir! I would like to have you as a volunteer for one last picture!" the photographer cried, waving him over almost frantically. 

Without another word, Dipper stalked over, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. "M- me? But I thought Will was-" he stuttered, one hand pointing at himself warily. 

"-magnificent, handsome, sexy, I know! A wonderful supermodel your friend is one day," the photographer cut off proudly. He gestured to the empty spot on the right side of the giraffe. "Please, sit down! I'm sure William wouldn't mind, yes?"

Mutely, Will nodded, a smirk on his face to keep his cool. Dipper looked at him, red in the face, before he sat down. He didn't understand why Dipper was so embarrassed until he realized that Dipper never really argued with the photographer's descriptions of him. And that only made his shit-eating smirk turn into a shit-eating grin as he swung his arms behind the bench and spread his legs dominantly like a true model. 

Dipper just sat there, awkwardly with his hands in his lap and his knees pressed tightly together with his back as rigid as a board. He smiled, if not achingly.

"Mr. William has the smile, but sir you do not! Please, just smile!" the photographer huffed, weirdly not taking a picture yet as he always did to make sure they were just perfect. He just stayed there, crouching in front of them to wait for the seemingly perfect moment. 

Chuckling, Will leaned in closer to Dipper, but not enough for him to touch the giraffe. "You sneeze like a kitten, by the way," he whispered.

Dipper gave him a sideways glare. "And you laugh like a hyena."

Will barked out a laugh, leaning away from Dipper. Just after that, the photographer took a picture of them, this camera's clicking sounding quite...different. It made a hissing noise, then a click, then the sounds of things turning inside it like it was alive. 

And perhaps it was, as a square piece of paper was produced from the bottom of the weird looking camera. 

The photographer stood up and snatched it right up, shaking it and walking over to them with a small smile on his face. He gave the photo to Will, looking a little sheepish. "I'm sorry I could not give you two a professional photo, but all I brought with me today was a Polaroid Camera. But I wish you two the best in your relationship!" 

Then he waved them goodbye and walked off.

The giraffe finally lost interest in them, making a little noise behind its throat before it swiveled its head and marched off. Will looked down at the photo, rubbing his thumb over the cloudy picture as if it would help. 

"Relationship?" Dipper frowned. But either way, he still leaned in to see the picture.

"He means friendship. He's not that good with english, kind of like me," Will shrugged. Finally, the Polaroid picture heightened up and they were able to see the outcome of their little picture-taking. 

Will looked like in the middle of laughing, as suspected, with the giraffe staring off into the distance with its tongue in its eye. Dipper, on the hand, was looking at Will with his eyes turned to him, a small shy smile on his face. 

A breeze came through just then, almost snatching up the picture with it. But Will held on and his hair blew into his face. He pushed it back, bringing the photo up in the air so he could see better. 

He grinned. "Now this is what I call photo-worthy!" he exclaimed. 

He gave the photo over to Dipper, who simply looked at him in question. "We'll frame it when we get home. For now, you put that in your trusty little backpack and keep it safe, hmm?" he hummed. 

Dipper rolled his eyes, but slid his backpack off his shoulders and ripped it open, stuffing the photo somewhere it in so it didn't get crushed by any of his books or whatever the guy had in there. Then he strung his backpack back up and slid it back onto his shoulders, looking up at Will from behind his bangs.

The breeze made his hair look curlier, natural even. Just like it was back then, before Damon probably pushed it on him that flattening his hair looked better. 

"So? Are we going to the tigers or what?" Dipper snickered. 

"Yeah. Duh?" Will blinked. What made him think they weren't?

"Well, you were looking at me like I was an alien," Dipper pointed out, answering his silent question. 

Will shrugged. He got up and stretched, holding out a hand to help Dipper up. Dipper gladly took it, maybe just a little hesitantly. But the moment Dipper took his hand, Will curled his fingers around the brunet's knuckles and pulled him up, ultimately forcing him to crash against his lean chest.

He placed his chin underneath Dipper's head, feeling the smaller human breathe deeply, surprised by his course of action. Dipper's other hand curled into his undershirt, like he was going to fall down if he didn't do it. Will almost let out a purr at the feeling of their bodies together- close and warm, like they used to. 

But realizing that the moment wouldn't last and he still had yet to win Dipper over, he forced his mouth to speak. "Well, how about after the tigers we go visit the monkeys?" he asked, a pinch of hopefulness to his tone. 

Dipper laughed softly against his chest, the feeling of Dipper against him both foreign and somehow familiar. "Why monkeys?" he chuckled. 

"Because I heard one of those monkeys look a lot like Damon. You know, hairy and gross."

He didn't need to look down or see Dipper's face to know that the brunet had rolled his eyes from his way too obvious answer. "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and I could shit out a better response than that."

Will grinned at his tackier reply. He gently pushed Dipper away from his body, but one hand had found its way to grip Dipper's wrist, almost in a way that a lover would. "Let's just go, you adorable piece of shit."

Dipper frowned at him. "Did you just compliment and insult me in the same- _hey_!" 

Will whisked him away, like a knight in shining armor. Except he really wasn't saving Dipper from anything, other than the face-licking giraffes of course. Maybe he was saving Dipper from Damon, but who was he to tell?

* * *

"For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow!" Will sang, swinging his arm to the beat of the song. 

Dipper laughed beside him, swinging his arms in the same fashion. Together, they sang, "For he's a jolly good fellow, that nobody could deny!"

They burst out laughing soon after, their arms around each other tightening so they were forced to be pressed against each other even more. They looked like drunken college students in all honesty, but did Will really care? The answer was a definite- HA! Nope. 

The little balloon on his pinky got in Dipper's face, bouncing off his nose like it had a mind of its own. The brunet just simply guffawed, swatting it away like a gnat. "William, sometimes I think you're a five year old child with a kink for balloons."

"Don't kinkshame me." Will punched the balloon, causing it to bop back onto Dipper's nose. Dipper scrunched up his nose, narrowing his eyes over to Will almost in challenge. "Punch buggy blue," Will chirped, pointing to the Volkswagen in the distance. Dipper craned his neck to look at it, then looked back at Will with an even more challenging look, but the unamusement was there. "Hey, no punch backs!" he quickly added, bringing his hands up to his chest.

Dipper stuck out his tongue, crossing his arms indignantly over his chest. "Now who's the five year old," Will grumbled under his breath. 

"Sorry, what was that?" 

"I- um- nothing!" Will grinned. "I just said that you looked absolutely _marvelous_ covered in bird poop," he drawled. 

Dipper punched his arm in return, snickering under his breath to show that he wasn't too mad at Will, at least. But still, that guy could seriously pack a punch. What did he do, take training classes from Miss Corduroy?

They trudged through the nearly empty sidewalk, shoulder to shoulder now that Dipper had finally gotten his dignity back, the sun up above casting a warn amber glow to border their shadows. It had taken them quite a while to finish all their, ah- routines, but Will considered a job well done. They returned to the Wendy and Damon before the show started, but as soon as it ended, they had excused themselves to hanging out again. 

Damon and Dipper got into a little fight about the whole thing, but it was obvious that Dipper had won when he strode over to Will with a smug little smile on his face. Apparently, Dipper used the, "He's a friend and a guest and you're my boyfriend so suck it up you jealous prick" argument. 

Anyway, they had the time of their lives- or at least Will did. 

You know, things like a monkey flashing his butt to Dipper, Will having an argument with a parrot about which Disney movie was better (Frozen or The Lion King- the King obviously out-rules), throwing a coin at a sleeping hippo (they ran away before someone could catch them), Will trying to climb the railing of an alligator pit to retrieve Dipper's pin, almost being bit by a Gila Monster, and Will excitedly asking to be volunteered for the bird show and forcing Dipper down (Resulting in the parrot chirping, "Polly sees a good couple! A good couple indeed!" when Will gave the rose to Dipper after the bird handed it to Will- Damon sulked the whole time).  

"Can you stop here for a moment? I think I caught a stone in my shoe," Will explained, nodding to the bench near them. 

Dipper did as told, stopping right in front of the bench to watch Will hop over to it and plop down, bringing his foot up to his knee to untangle his messy laces. Tongue stuck out, he slid off his shoe and shook it out, Dipper crossing his arms and suppressing a little smile. 

"You better watch out for giraffes, Will. I heard they like to lick people in this part of town," Dipper chirped.

Will chuckled, managing to get one good-sized pebble out of his shoe. It dropped to the ground with a dull clank, the stone itself bouncing away by Dipper's own foot. Will stuffed his shoe back on. 

He didn't notice that Dipper had sat down next to him until he finished tying his own shoe. "It's nice, isn't it?" he whispered softly. 

"What is?" Will chuckled. 

Dipper simply waved at the crowd in front of them, almost lazily. "I haven't seen natural light in weeks before this," he chuckled, a quirky smile playing on his lips, "it's nice to hang out with someone else other than my- Damon."

"But I thought you liked hanging out with him?" Will frowned. It surely looked like it. 

Dipper simply shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest loosely. He took a deep breath, leaning all the way back against the bench, their elbows grazing against each other. Will forced himself to think nothing of it, that any sort of touch Dipper seemed to crave was just friendly, out of respect, nothing else. Spending time with another did not mean Dipper would automatically take a liking to him. 

"It gets tiring if you hang out with the same person all the time," Dipper finally said. Near them, a toddler started to cry, seeming lost in the middle of the moving crowd. Will pursed his lips, crossing his arms in the same fashion Dipper had them in. 

Will grunted to his words, a mild noise of agreement. It was like having the same person to bed every single day- the routine was almost ominous and boring, the same old for every single night. It was weird comparing hanging out with a person to sex, but hey, it was the only match he could make with Dipper's statement to agree. Being with Dipper was never boring to him. 

The laughter and teasing seemed to be sucked out of them as they sat there in silence, watching people roll in left and right. There was a fireworks show to be started later tonight, to announce the closing of the zoo for the winter. He planned to take Dipper there with him, but he knew Damon would never allow such a private idea to be passed. The fight to get Dipper alone with him today was already enough to suck out anymore insults in him. 

The toddler crying in the middle of the zoo suddenly jumped up, chanting mommy over and over again as a middle-aged woman came over and picked them right up, a man close behind with a phone pressed to his ear. The reunited family walked away a moment later, their frantic panic washing away at the sight of their little child being okay. And for some reason, Will's mind popped to the twins, to JJ- if they went missing, Will would've burnt everything down to a crisp to find them. 

"Missing your family?" Dipper whispered. 

Startled, Will looked up at him. "What?" What made Dipper ever think he missed his family?

"You were looking at them," Dipper said bluntly. The family, he meant. Will felt his stomach stir at the mention of his family, a burning hatred that would have made the entire bench burst into flames from the absolute lost of control. But weirdly, he never felt the anger of thinking of them. He felt...wistful, in a way. 

"You know, it's okay to miss them," Dipper told him. He craned his head to turn to look at Will, his brown eyes filled with the same compassion he saw them in Mabel's. And that similarity alone was enough to make him wince. Unfortunately, Dipper took this as something else. 

"I sure would have. I...was never really that close to my parents. They were always gone for work or some party, you know?" Dipper chuckled, trying to make the situation as light as possible. In turn, Will stayed quiet. Well, what was he supposed to say? "But I know they care about me, even if they don't tell me directly. 'Dipper, don't touch that!', 'Dipper, you'll get sick!', 'Dipper, you can't go out, it's bad out there!'.  I'm sure your parents were the same, considering how- erm, nice you've been to everyone you meet," he added airily, scratching an itch spot on his cheek. The poor boy probably never pep-talked anyone quite like this before. 

 _Yeah sure, everyone,_ Will thought sourly. And sure, his parents cared about him. His family _totally_ cared about him. They were the whole reason he got sucked into this whole mess! But even though his family's intentions were clear, he found himself sighing, "I know."

Dipper suddenly slapped his arm. Not hardly, but not softly enough that Will could feel the sting. Warily, Will glanced at him. "Hey," Dipper said softly. Will turned his fixed stare away from him, propping his cheek on his hand on the end of the bench. He was already bored of this conversation. The last people he ever wanted to talk about was his stupid family. Heck, he didn't know what to feel about them anymore. A trillion years would do that to a person. 

"Will, come on," Dipper sighed. His depression must be rubbing off the other, as Wendy had said. He only grunted to show Dipper he was listening. Uh, kind of. "Will, can you stop being so sad for like, two minutes? I thought you brought me here to have fun!"

"And _you_ brought them up," Will countered bitterly. All this drama for people he had forgotten about- unbelievable. 

"I brought them up because- _Will_!" Dipper huffed. He stepped on William's foot, trying to draw his attention when the other simply stared out into space. Nearby, a piano player warmed up on a battered grand piano. He decided to turn his attention to that instead of the lecturing young Pines beside him. Perhaps that was the reason why they called him Professor Pines- as the brunet couldn't keep his mouth shut for more than five minutes. 

"Will you just- _listen_ to me for two seconds?" Dipper asked, a little past annoyance by this point. 

"One- two. Two seconds of my time, there. Times up!" Will sang out. 

Dipper looked unimpressed. "Will, all I was going to say was that your first family is gone and all, but-"

He felt a warm hand reach over and squeeze his knee, almost reassuringly. The touch was so familiar and tender that Will felt his heart jolt in his chest, bittersweet memories coming back to him in floods. He squeezed his eyes shut, his ears tuning in to the sweet light piano and the soft voice of Dipper Pines. 

"Come on, do you really think I'd let you go without a second?"

His eyes fluttered open, his back straightening and his body unconsciously going forward to sit at the edge of the bench. He turned his neck to look at Dipper warily. "What do you mean?" Will croaked out. 

Despite the cool of his voice, Dipper's face betrayed all of his embarrassment. The young human clearly wasn't that comfortable talking all sweet and caring to others, even people he considered close. Only Mabel was capable of doing that, and the sight of Dipper trying his best to seem even a bit like her made Will smile. Dipper may be different in many ways than not, but he was still the young brunet he held dear.

Realizing that he was still holding onto Will's knee, Dipper retracted his hand with a flustered cough. "I just meant..." Dipper mumbled. 

Feeling braver than he had in the hours he ever spent with Dipper, he put a finger underneath the human's chin, tilting it upwards to look at him straight in the eyes. Before, somewhere in the past, he would have kissed Dipper and teased him straight afterwards for being so red-faced. 

But he didn't, and he couldn't. Things were different because of decisions _he_ made and _he_ had to face the consequences. 

Instead, he let go of Dipper's chin and turned away, his elbows resting comfortably on his knees. "Thank you. I didn't know I needed that," he told Dipper. The words sounded somehow outlandish on his tongue- but it was a good kind. Like getting the accent right to a language. 

The man on the piano was nearing the end of his song, and the two decided to tune in to it, much like the others around them. The pianist wasn't bad, but he wasn't excellent either, Will had to admit. Rusty on the tempo, but Will wasn't in the position to criticize. His last piano playing session was years ago.

Dipper seemed to enjoy the music, his fingers tapping on the bench's arm rest to the beat of the classic song. Beethoven, Will recognized. He chuckled to himself, Dipper glancing at him for a split second in curiosity as he did so. It felt like yesterday since he met up with the brilliant young man, giving him the nudge he needed to create beautiful classic pieces. 

Because he couldn't help himself anymore and though the music was quite pleasant, he found himself leaning towards Dipper and whispered, "It's the wrong key signature."

"What?" Dipper whispered back. "It sounds fine to me."

"It does, but the whole tempo's gonna be thrown off he keeps using that sharp," Will chuckled. "It isn't supposed to sound like that."

"What, can you do better?" Dipper shot back. 

Will quirked an eyebrow. "I most certainly can, Dipper." 

As if the pianist felt a challenger in his wake, he stopped his playing, the vibration of the keys sounding through the central of the zoo. Why a zoo put a battered grand piano to the sidelines, Will didn't know. Maybe to bring entertainment to others like this. 

Quietly, the pianist stood up, back straight, and turned to the small crowd around him and bowed. The horde of people clapped politely, some even going as far to whistling. A little girl came up to the pianist and gave him a small rose in gratitude, the young man putting it in his breast pocket to show that he was thankful. Will simply watched him.

As soon as the man left the grounds, drawing the crowd away with it, Will stood and made his way over to the piano in front of them. Dipper yelped, asking him what the hell he thought he was doing. He replied with a smug, "Showing you I could do better!" behind his shoulder before he completely ignored Dipper's pleas, speed-walking towards it so nobody else could call dibs on the instrument before he could. 

He sat down on the sleek black piano bench, his spine straightening out almost out of instinct. He rested his fingers on the keys, feeling the dust and oil underneath. It was certainly an old piano, he could tell. He gently pushed down a white key, hearing it pluck through the room delicately. Will felt himself release a breath. It was still in tune. Now the only problem was his playing. It has been years, after all. 

Will glanced up at the music stand above the piano, two separate groups of paper neatly organized. The left was full of music sheets, a mixture of classical ones and original compositions from others left behind. The right were piano scales- for warm-ups, he presumed. 

So he played a simple chromatic scale to have his memory jogged. The last note twinged a little, making him cringe. He needed more practice than he thought, if he couldn't even pass a scale a fifth grader could do. 

He huffed, taking a deep breath and straightening his back even more. He pushed the bench a little closer to the piano, resting his feet flatly on the floor below as he exhaled through his mouth to calm himself down. This was to be expected, he knew, but disappointment could wait. He was the greatest piano player of all time, he couldn't just quit like some measly envied human! 

So he played the first part of Für Elise, his fingers smooth and nimble over the keyboards. He stopped, brow furrowing in concentration. He didn't realize the crowd around him had gone completely quiet at his sudden burst of music, too focused at the task at hand.

Then he restarted, playing it again, with much more gusto and prowess of a professional. Hisfeathery light touches plucked at the keys with barely more than a jot of a finger, the sounds blossoming into something full and quite heavy, but wonderful. 

Then he changed the tempo, feeling the rush of being able to play one of his favorite instruments again. The adrenaline filled his veins, the sounds of the elegant piano becoming piercing and strong. The piano soon became a part of him, like an extension to his limbs from the ivory white keys to the charcoal black. He forgot, for the briefest of moments, where he was. He wasn't at a zoo, or in Gravity Falls trying his best to gain something that never was his in the first place- but in the middle of nowhere, pouring out his soul to an instrument that was very much capable of taking his pain away. 

He closed his eyes, head dipping down as the sounds drowned in his ears, muffling them to the point where he heard nothing but the bell-like ringings. Will had forgotten why he had loved playing the piano so much. It was another kind of magic, playing an instrument as grand as this- it made him feel alive, powerful, greater than he was. It was like speaking without the verbal communication. 

A piano, especially after being played by a person who was careless to keep his mind shut out, was capable of being played by itself. Not in the sense where Will could step back and the keys would push themselves down, but in a way where he could simply just close his eyes and listen. And doing so was the most dangerous part of playing, because if he wasn't careful, he might accidentally play a song of his heart. 

And the piano forced him to do just that. The simple song he had taught himself long ago, a song he used to warm up every single time he played, changed into something new. A new transition from song to song, as smooth as his hands flying over the keys. The song started off quiet, perhaps even slower than the song he originally played. 

His head buzzed, he saw nothing but empty white space behind his closed eyes, but- the song was there. And it was too soft, too nimble- as if he was afraid. 

A soft voice, one that broke through his closed off ears, began to sing. It wasn't the prettiest voice, but it also wasn't the worst. And this ordinary sounding voice, one that had crackled and felt delicate to the touch, pulled William out of his daze. _"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when..."_

Just like that, Will played louder, and bolder, and _happier_ as the song intended it to be. 

The boy singing the song skipped the first few lyrics, but William didn't crack open his eyes to find out why. Perhaps he was shy, or hesitant, or afraid. Maybe all. But Will didn't question him. 

 _"So will you please say hello, to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long-"_ At this, he swallowed deeply, his voice already hoarse, "- _They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song,"_ Dipper sang. His voice was quiet, to the point where Will had to strain to hear his voice as well. He had a feeling that Dipper wasn't singing for the crowd, and not even for Will, but for himself. 

 _"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when-"_ And then here, he paused, and Will, feeling his fingers buzz with agitation, paused as well. The piano rang from the sudden stop, but then he kept going, at the same time Dipper had said the final words. 

_"-but I know we'll meet again some sunny day."_

Then Will let the piano buzz, as if that was the grand finale to his playing. He opened his eyes, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat as he looked up to where he heard the singing. Around them, people clapped politely, but that was it. Perhaps they knew how personal the playing was, and that it wasn't the end of it. 

To his right was Dipper Pines, his elbows on top of the wood of the brown grand piano. He was looking down into where the piano strings were. But his eyes shyly came up to meet Will's intense stare, a flush on his cheeks. 

"You were singing." It wasn't a question.

Dipper swallowed, his Adam's apple going up and down in hesitance. "I...well, the tune sounded familiar and I couldn't help it so I..." He shook his head, as if trying to restart his words. "My...voice isn't pretty, isn't it?" he laughed softly. 

Will looked back down at the keys, forcing his fingers to play an E Major scale to get them working again. He was afraid his hands would start shaking if he didn't do anything with them. Not the best singing voice, but not the worst. Trust me on that. Plus, you made up for it. You sounded pretty choked up," Will commented. 

Dipper scratched the back of his neck, looking down at the keys that Will kept touching ever so lightly to produce feather-light music. "Everyone around seemed pretty choked up when you played, Will. You looked angry with yourself when you were playing but...happy, at the same time. Kind of. My Grunkle Ford always told me that music gets a hundred times better if the one playing it is pouring his soul into the sounds." Will shrugged at his words. He finished off the scale with a soft, light twang. That was exactly something Fordsy would say. 

"I haven't played the piano in years. Maybe that's why. So why did you come over here? To watch me play better? Want to check me out?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, trying to take the mood of the situation to the brighter side of things. 

Dipper scoffed at him teasingly, propping his chin on his hand. He kept staring at the keys, a longing in his eyes, then it hit Will that he seemed in slight awe. "I always wanted to learn, actually. There's a grand piano in the Shack somewhere but I couldn't bring myself to use it. I mean, I know simple scales but I'm pretty rusty. Damon and my Grunkles always tease me when I try," Dipper admitted.   

"But there's strangers all around here," Will mused. For a fear of doing things in front of people, Dipper didn't seem to have a problem singing quietly in such a public place. 

"Yeah, but they're not Damon." Dipper pondered over his words for a while, then added, "Or my Grunkles. Or anyone I know, really."

Will rested his fingers on top of the ivory keys, brow knitting together. He remembered teaching Dipper how to play some scales and to read sheet music way back then, but that was it. And he definitely remembered the excitement Dipper had to learning something completely new, even if it was just another instrument. Making a split second decision, Will scooted closer to his left to allow Dipper room. 

"Sit," he ordered, patting the spot to his right. 

Dipper looked down at it in complete surprise, shyly making his way to sit down beside Will. He looked a little out of place sitting there, hands in his lap, like a child waiting to be taken out of time out. But Will didn't prod on that, instead looking through the leftover music sheets to find something simple enough for Dipper to learn. 

Then he found one, stacking up the music sheets again with the new one for Dipper to learn right in the very front. He put them on the rack as neatly as possible, taking Dipper's wrists softly to place them on top of the keys when the boy became unresponsive.

"You know how to read the notes, right?" he asked softly. 

Dipper nodded. But there was hesitation in his eyes as he brought his right hand to where it should be, brow furrowed in concentration. Will looked down at his hands, waiting for him to make a mistake so he could help him make it better. Dipper didn't make a move until a moment later, his cool running thin right beside Will. He...didn't make Dipper uncomfortable, right?

Idly, Dipper pushed down a key, grimacing when the note didn't sound right. Will mumbled under his breath for him to push down the key right beside the one he had pushed, and Dipper sighed out a breath. He pushed it again, then pressed another and another to make a simple melody. 

He waited for the brunet to play it out even longer, so they could get the song moving. But Dipper seemed frozen, eyes wide and panicked as he looked at the simple notes. 

Before Will could ask what was wrong, Dipper blurted out, "I'm sorry, sorry- I- I'm not really good at- at playing piano and it frustrates me so I-"

"-whoa, hey!" Will brought his hands up to his chest. "Look kid, no one's going to shout swears at you for not being a good piano player. And if they do- _if-_ then they won't live to see the light. I'm not going to bring you down for being bad at this. If anything, I _want_ to see you try. Just- try it. You won't regret it," he consoled. 

"But- but everyone's going to judge me- I- D-" Dipper stammered. 

"Come closer to me." 

Dipper looked up at him, confusion coming across his features. "W- what?"

"Just do it," Will sighed. He snuck a hand around Dipper's waist and pulled him closer to him by force, making the other yelp in surprise. But Dipper did nothing to get away from him, Will's arm snaking away when he realized that Dipper was doing nothing to stop him. If anything, the human seemed a little curious. 

Their shoulders were pressed against each other, knees bumping occasionally. But Will ignored it, lifting his right hand up to put it across the keys. His left hand stayed underneath. "Put your hand on top," he said under his breath. 

Already used to Will and his antics, Dipper gingerly put his hand on top of his. The contrast between their hands were, well...surprising.  Will's hands were slender, longer, and perhaps more toned. Dipper's, on the other hand, looked quite what a writer's hand would look like, if Will tried to imagine it. Stronger, a little callused, and definitely tensed. A weird observation, he knew, but he was the source of weird, after all. 

He laughed quietly, gently pushing a key down with one firm finger. Dipper's own index finger came down with it, and the brunet furrowed his brow in wonder. "How is this supposed to help me?" Dipper asked. 

He played a rather fast scale down the keys, making Dipper's brows raise in complete surprise. He laughed when Will stopped abruptly, eyes flitting over to him expectantly. "It feels a little weird. I could feel your fingers flexing and everything."

"That's the point," Will grinned. He looked back down at the keys. "That was how I got the courage to start playing, you know? Place yourself in the spot of a professional and you'll kinda feel the need to work to feel that power again." He laughed to lighten the mood. "I know. It's not really teaching you how to play piano but I'll teach you how it feels. Sorta- at least. You'll get used to it. Just, erm...hold on, I guess. I'll try not to play so fast," he added meekly. 

Dipper cracked a small smile. "That, I could do. Play away."

So Will smiled back at him, and brought his other hand up to the smooth keys of the grand beast. He began to play, the notes heavy and resounding. It caught the attention of almost everyone around him, he knew, and having Dipper right beside him made him prouder than he was before. He played slowly, just as he promised, one note at a time, but somehow it made the sounds flourish wonderfully. 

He found himself ducking his head by the middle of it, when the notes changed into something more familiar and resonating, to the point where he knew every single person around him knew what it was. Canon in D was always one of his favorites. Dreaming, _wishing,_ for this very piece to be played at his very wedding. Weddings- they weren't a fan of his. It was stupid, to vow to another like that. But he couldn't help but hope that one day he would live long enough to see one, or actually _be_ in one. 

Those thoughts made him more human and that scared him. 

Heart pounding a million times a minute, Will cracked his eyes open, daring himself to look to the right for the one human who had taken over his mind and soul and heart. Dipper was transfixed on the keys, his lips pressed and his brows pulled together as if he was making notes in his head. Knowing him, Dipper might as well have been. 

Will looked down at his hands, Dipper's own hand curling in on itself shyly on top of his. The heavy weight on his right hand didn't even remotely bother him in the slightest, but actually encouraged in a way. His hands moved over the white and black keys swiftly, fingers gracefully pushing weighing down every needed button to create the sounds that left everyone captivated. After all, there has never been a greater pianist than him. 

Nearing the end of it, Dipper had subtly put his hand back in his lap, eyes still set on William's blooming fingers with a type of sparkle in them that Will had recognized as awe. And somehow that made him more prouder, more relaxed, as the piano plucked at the strings and created music from the soul, as Dipper had put it.

He finished with a vibrato of pulsing noise, a grand finale to his even grander playing for all to hear. He didn't breathe in until the noise completely stopped, and when he did, he turned to the only person beside him. Taking a deep breath, feeling completely at peace after years of nothing more than stress, he grinned happily at Dipper Pines. 

"See? I told you it wasn't so ba-"

He got cut off by the sudden noise of what sounded like clapping. So much of it, in fact, that it sounded much like the claps of thunder before a rainstorm, the whistling only adding to the thought. He craned his neck, body turning with it as he came face to face with the largest crowd he had ever seen in a long while. The last time so many people had gathered like this, it was because he was terrorizing their town- but now they were here to applaud his piano playing. Will couldn't get any more confused than he already was.

The roaring sound of applause didn't leave for quite a while. More than once, people even threw flowers by their feet, whooping and hollering for what they were worth. By popular demand, and because Will was still conceited little demon from years ago, he got up and grinned, bowing to crowd and causing them to go hysterical. He didn't understand why his piano playing left such an effect on them, but he could really get used to the attention!

They finally left when they got what they want, when Will finally whirred around and forced Dipper up to his feet to bow to the crowd with him, even though the brunet had argued that he did nothing but watch. Finally, the audience screamed their last approvals, and they thinned out in the span of a couple minutes. 

Thinking that they had nothing else to do and it was clear they had scared off any other potential pianists, they sat back down on the piano chair and Will began to teach Dipper the easiest songs he knew. 

"Don't stretch your pinky out like that," he mumbled under his breath. He touched the key Dipper needed to push down with a fingernail. "Move your hand if you need to but don't do that."

Dipper nodded solemnly, doing as told while he squinted up at the notes on the rack. It was clear the human still needed glasses, but Will decided not to push him on that matter. They just needed to focus on the piano and they would be out of here in no time. The thought bummed him out a little, but he was more than sure that Dipper was also "getting tired of him".

This went on a little faster than Will had wanted, and soon an elderly couple came by to watch them by William's left. With Dipper to his right, Dipper hadn't seen the couple yet until he was too into playing the scale, eyes narrowed as he played with only his right hand to practice. 

Will's eyes snapped up at the man and woman hunched over to them with matching little smiles, giving them a look of curiosity. Before he could speak something along the lines of, "Can I help you with something?" the man had spoken, causing Dipper to freeze over the piano in surprise. 

"You know, young man, you're very lucky to have this lad as your boyfriend."  

He directed the question to Dipper, as he turned to look at the brunet with a wink to his eye. His wife, Will assumed, giggled right beside him and nodded in agreement. 

"He could play for you every single night and I bet you won't ever be tired of it!" he exclaimed again, his accent familiar to Will. But he wasn't focusing on stupid accents, as the question was like a blow to the stomach. Will's mind raced with all the possibilities to excuse him and Dipper and try or try and get the couple away, but he surfaced with none, as his mind was nothing but a puddle of stutters. 

He didn't realize he was speaking out those stutters until he heard Dipper laugh. A small chuckle was more descriptive. He didn't sound even a little bit flustered by the comments, yet his cheeks were flushed to the bone. "I'm really sorry but I have a boyfriend already," Dipper apologized. Almost immediately, the pair's faces fell like they heard the worst news in their lives. Will almost cringed away. "Will is just my friend. He wanted to teach me how to play piano, actually. Right, Will?"

He snapped out of it after being called by his name, nodding earnestly to show that he was just as awkward as Dipper was about the conversation. No need to remind him about Damon. He was just getting into a good mood and people remind him about the last person on earth he wanted to remember. 

His bad mood forced him to sulk a little, something slipping in between his lips in a very sour tone despite it being in German. The sarcasm was there, and he was thankful that no one had heard it. " _Ja,_ _er ist ein Freund,_ " he scoffed under his breath. 

Dipper glanced at him curiously, wondering what in the world he was talking about now, but Will was more focused on the couple talking to them. Recognition flashed in the man's eyes and he was afraid for a moment that the couple had perceived him as Bill Cipher. 

But the world decided to be just a little bit more cruel as the elder man leaned in and whispered, only for Will to hear, "Young man, whoever this person is dating- I believe they are no good together. Date him, I do not care what it takes. You have me and my wife's blessing." The accent suddenly made sense. 

Before Will could retort anything back, the woman had taken her husband's elbow and they walked away together without another word. Will looked back down at the piano, Dipper's hands still on top of the keys. But Dipper didn't play, and instead frowned at Will in concern. 

"Are you okay?" Dipper asked him. "Did that guy say anything weird to you? I mean, Gravity Falls is a pretty weird place, so I mean like- everyone would probably be a little weird here, and I kinda forgot to mention that, so I'm sorry if he freaked you-"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm fine," Will said, waving a hand in his direction in dismissal. He cracked a smile, but it felt fake to his cheeks. "So do you want to keep working on this piece or save it for another day at that Shack of yours?" he teased. 

Dipper smiled back at him, but the concern was still there. He slipped his fingers away from the piano, sliding over to his right to stand back up. Will did the same, curiously so.

There was that twinkle in his eyes again, the mischief that the Pines family always had until the end of times. He's seen it far too many times to not catch it, or catch how Dipper was basically trying to hide something from him. "Okay, Pines. I know you got something up your sleeves. What are you thinking?" he demanded, eyes narrowing in slight suspicion. 

"Hmm, I don't know," Dipper mused, tapping his chin with a finger as he looked up at the sky. "I somehow do remember a twenty-something year old man wanting to go somewhere twelve year olds go to."

Will gave him an unamused look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I mean there's a playground near here, William."

Just like that, Will's mood brightened. So he was over a trillion year old demon- so what? Playgrounds were a demon's playthings! Just imagine the screams, the things he could do, or-

"Where?" he demanded, practically bouncing on his heels.

Dipper suppressed a grin at his sudden change in mood, a job well done on his part. "It right around the corner, to the right of the fork where it says Kiddie Funla-"

Will took off, leaving behind dust in his wake while Dipper followed close behind with a laugh from how eager he was to go to the last place a twenty year old person would go to. Will torpedoed down the road, the sign about playground safety basically blurring in his vision as he came face to face with the largest playground he had seen in years. 

And better yet, no one was there. They all must've went to set up to watch the fireworks to get the greatest seats. 

Grinning with the force of a thousand suns, Will climbed up the ropes up to the tallest platform of the playground, hitting the metal with his hand over and over again to catch Dipper's attention, who was making his way over to the play structure with his hands in his pockets and his walk slower than sloths on an even lazier day.  

"Dipper Pines, you get your ass over here and climb the playground with me! Or else I'm going to-!" he yelled down below. 

"-going to what? Murder my whole family?" Dipper laughed. 

"No, I was going to say force you to watch the first installment of Human Centipede with me but that works too."

Dipper's eyes almost popped out of their sockets (which was completely possible, since one of his eyes were made out of glass and was removable), and he quickly hollered back up at Will that he'll be there in a moment while he finally sprinted towards where Will was, kicking up rubber mulch everywhere. 

He climbed up the planks, taking the longer route than Will had taken. The moment Dipper had reached where he was though, Will let out a loud whoop and laid on his stomach, pushing himself down the slide head first. 

He got a mouthful of rubber mulch when he came back up, but he grinned back at Dipper when he heard the other laugh at him for being an idiot. All he did next was climb up the nets again, and did it again, this time on his butt, all the while Dipper watched. 

As expected, he fell on his butt with a groan as he stood. "You idiot!" Dipper yelled down at him. He rested his elbows on the bright red metal of the playground, looking down at Will expectantly. "By the time we meet my boyfriend and Wendy back at the hill, you'll be covered in that!" he scolded.

"Ah, don't worry!" Will assured him. He patted down his behind just in case. "Your Great Uncle Stanley could probably sell these rubber things online for thirty dollars each, being the con man he is!"

Dipper huffed. "Sadly, that's more than true," he grumbled. "But William, don't hurt yourself. This may be a playground, but you're more than capable for breaking your arm here or-" he warned.

"-I could sustain a life injury and you'll be sobbing over my comatose body and I wouldn't be able to wake up until spring- yada yada yada!" Will groaned. His eye caught the form of the monkey bars, the blue paint on it already peeling from how much the kids kept grabbing onto it.

"Welp, let's get out of here after one more thing! Race ya to the monkey bars!" he sang out, already making his way over to the structure across the playground. "Last one there has to break up Chip and Di- _ah_ \- Little Bear's fight!"

By the time he got there, Dipper was sitting crossed-legged on top of the monkey bars, arms crossed over his chest with an unimpressed look. "You're cleaning up their shit too."

"Whu- how-" Will stammered. He even had to crane his neck to look up at him. One hand was already on the cold metal pole. A breeze went through and ruffled his blazer a little, as if Dipper did it on cue to commence the suspense. 

"If you grow up with a retired boxer and a crazy mad scientist, you'll learn to climb things like these easily," Dipper shrugged. 

Will grunted in defeat, hooking his foot on the side of the foot ledge and hoisted himself up. He brought his legs up above the lines of metal, sitting down almost achingly right beside Dipper, who seemed completely at ease to where he was. He looked kind of adorable up here, hands in his lap while he looked at Will curiously. It reminded the demon of a little boy waiting for attendance in the daycare. 

"So, what now?" Dipper asked. William shrugged, copying Dipper's pose and crossing his legs, hands supporting behind him.

"You made us come up here!" Dipper argued. 

Will shot him an innocent smile. "Oh I don't know, I wonder what a person shall do with another on top of the monkey bars with no one around to stop them," he drawled, eyes hooding. 

Dipper shot him a dirty look. "Will..." he warned.

Will raised an eyebrow, slowly. "I was taking about who can hang upside down the longest."

The poor human's face was nothing short of embarrassment, and he tried to cover it up with an even more awkward laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing a little. "Right. Sorry," he chuckled. Will watched him, a little entertained by his constant glancing away and nervous laughter. What _did_ Dipper think he was going to do?

But he decided to put the guy out of his misery. "Whoever lasts the longest doesn't have to wash Stanley's underwear next time!" he chirped. Then he grabbed the metal cylinders and forced his body to hang upside down, hooking the back of his knees on the bars. 

Right when he was starting to worry that Dipper wouldn't play along, the brunet's face appeared on his face, his hair sticking right up. Or uh- down, since gravity existed here. 

Will laughed, swinging his body to brush up against Dipper's by a molecule. "How are you today on this fine late afternoon, Mr. Pines?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Dipper giggled. Unlike his other laughter, where a deep chuckle would be present or a loud laugh emitted from him, this one was quite different from the others. Giddy and wonderful, pleasant even. His stomach fluttered, but it could just be because he was hanging upside down while chilly air blew all around him. But still, Will wanted to hear it again. 

"Aw, is Mr. Pines becoming flustered?" Will teased. He brushed up against Dipper's chest again, a little closer this time. "Would Professor Pines like a raspberry from the great and powerful William?"

"Will, what the hell!" Dipper laughed.

Will blew up his cheeks to the point he looked like a chipmunk, and Dipper lost it. They probably looked a little crazy on the monkey bars, just two boys making faces at each other while blood rushed to their heads and they didn't even seemed to care. 

After making that face at Dipper, he swung his body even more, to the point where Dipper got pushed a little backwards from the force. "Will- will you just-" Dipper said, his words outlined by his snickering laughter. 

"Stop making puns with my name, I barely could even make a joke with the name Dipper!" Will complained. He paused, for dramatic effect. "No wait, yes I can."

"Oh yeah?" Dipper snickered, this time being the time to brush up against him. 

"Yep!" Will confirmed with a grin. "When you take someone to bed, you know what they'll be saying? 'My, Dipper, you have such a Big Dipper!'."

"Gross!" Dipper laughed, but he bumped into Will nonetheless, the demon grinning at him like a maniac. "And for the record, that's actually the only joke someone had told me about my name."

"Prepare for trouble and lemme make it double then!" Will chortled. He gripped the bars tighter when it began to slip from his fingers, his head already beginning to feel light-headed. "You know why the hotel manager wouldn't let you in? He said, 'Sorry sir, this is a four star hotel, not a seven star!'."

Dipper groaned when he got it. "That was so bad it shouldn't even be considered a joke."

"Your mom's a joke," Will said simply. 

Dipper crashed into him, making him swing backwards from the force of it, like Newton's cradle. "Seriously?" he said, but it came out as a whine. 

"Hi Seriously, I'm William." He kept a straight face. 

"I didn't even say 'I'm'! _I'm,_ William! You literally ruined your own-!"

"You're not William, _I'm_ William! William Herschel!" Will scolded. 

Dipper looked at him warily, swinging uselessly from where he was. "Your last name is Herschel? I swear I could've heard that last name be-" Dipper said in disbelief. 

"Yep, William Herschel! The discoverer of Uranus!" Will grinned.

Dipper was silent for a moment before he scowled. "William, you motherfucking-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Will lilted. "No swear words on the playground! It was on the board," he added proudly. He swung backwards before Dipper could headbutt him for being smarter in this situation. 

"Will-" Dipper said warily. 

"I must be the Sun and you must be Earth, cause the closer we get, the hotter you become."

"That's not how-"

"Starlight, starbright why don't you come home with me tonight!" he sang. 

"Because we _live_ together!" 

"Fine- starlight, starbright, why don't you climb into bed with me tonight?" he repeated, wiggling his eyebrows soon afterwards. 

"William-"

"Astronomy is a great thing! Want to see the Big Dipper?" he purred. 

"It's on my forehead, now shut up before I-" Dipper warned. 

"Are you sure you're not wearing any space pants? Because your ass is out of this world!" Will chortled, laughing so hard afterwards that he didn't see the mean gleam in Dipper's eyes. 

"Ahahahahaha! Oh, _man_ \- you should've seen your face when I said that! You looked so-!" Will laughed. 

Dipper came up against him, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Almost immediately, Will's hands slackened on the bars and he crashed down to the floor below, a loud thump accompanying his fall. He groaned from the dull ache in his shoulder, turning on his back to look up at the orange and pink sky. 

Cursing, Dipper came down from the monkey bars immediately, crouching beside Will and pushing him a little to take a look at the scarred shoulder. "Will, what the hell happened to you? Are you okay? Did you fall on your head? Is anything broken, do you think? Ohmygosh ohmygosh, are you-?" 

Will let out a low laugh, sitting up with some help from Dipper, his hand on Will's back. He whooped, but it sounded reserved. "Ha, that was _amazing!_ Did you see me fall? I did a whole three-sixty in the air! I could've broken my pelvis!" he laughed.

Dipper breathed out in relief. Now seeing that Will was perfectly fine, save for the dull ache in his shoulder, Dipper looked at him in amusement. Will thought it was because of the fall that made Dipper look so entertained, then he thought back to what happened _before_ the fall. 

"Did- did you just-? Was that real? Wha- wouldn't- but you- Damon! He- wha-" From laughing about maybe breaking his pelvis to this. Man, he was a mess. 

Dipper cut him off with a laugh. He helped Will up to his feet, a hand gripped around Will's elbow. "I noticed that every time I kiss you, you kind of just tense up and turn from Mr. Confident to Mr. I-Can't-Even-Stand-Without-Falling-On-My-Face." At this, Will grunted. "Are my kisses your kryptonite or something?" he joked.

"Yes," Will admitted. Then he cleared his throat. "I- I mean- what? Yeah, sure. Don't act so smug, no one would ever- ever just- you know!" Dipper gave him a look. Will shrugged. "German people get flustered when people kiss them! No one loves us enough!" he argued.  

Dipper quirked an eyebrow, amused by his lack of explanations. "Well, Mr. I'm-The-Worst-Liar-Ever, it's getting late, I think we should get back to-"

A hiss cut his sentence clean off, and Will strained his ears to hear it better. Another hiss accompanied it, until the whole playground sounded nothing but loud screeches of what sounded like bursting pipes. Before Will could move a muscle, the hisses opened up to gurgling water. 

He turned his head, and right across the playground was a whole city of water. The sprinklers turned on for the night. 

He turned to look at Dipper with the largest grin on his face. Dipper took a step back, shaking his head at him. "No. No, Will, we have to go back. So no," he said firmly. 

"You didn't even know what I was going to say!" Will groaned. 

"You're going to say you, 'Hey Dipper, wanna go take a quick dip in the sprinklers? Haha, dip!', then you'd laugh and pull me along anyway!" Dipper said, his imitation of Will scarily on point. 

"That's...exactly what I was going to say, actually," Will admitted.

"Exactly, now, help me find our way back before my stupid boyfriend gets- Will!" Dipper snapped. His forearm was grabbed by none other than Will, who pulled him along to where the sprinklers were and didn't give a flying damn about how loud Dipper was yelling at him. 

"We don't have any clothes on us, Will! It's almost night, we'll get sick, you still need to make sure you haven't broken anything from your fall, Damon's going to get mad, he'll think I-!" Dipper nagged.

"You're no fun!" Will whined. They stopped right in front of the first sprinkler, the water already soaking their ankles. Some of them reached up towards the sky, so all they had to do was run in and get themselves wet. He shrugged out of his blazer and let it fall to the ground, Dipper looking at him uncertainly. "Come on, Dipper! Just one go around the sprinklers!" he complained, trying to tug Dipper along with him further into the mine field of spraying water. He was more than certain that they would get in trouble, but there's fun in that, he supposed. 

"William, I said no! I can't just-" Dipper cried. 

Too late. Will successfully made Dipper trip into the field and they were instantly soaked in water. Dipper jumped like a cat away from the water, but the damage was done and his orange shirt was now dark orange from the sprinklers. Will only cackled, almost skipping into the field like a schoolgirl. 

"William!" Dipper snapped. 

"Just get your butt over here, Dipper Pines! You're already wet!" Will basically sang out, waving his hands frantically at the brunet to get him over. His hair flattened on his head, and the water was making it extremely hard to see. 

But he saw Dipper walking towards him (if not sullenly) as clear as day. Arms folded crossly, Dipper was now in front of Will, staring him down with a stink eye that made Will grin like a maniac. He opened his mouth, making Dipper's brow quirk. 

Water collected in there and he clamped his mouth shut and spat in Dipper's face. 

"Will! _Gross_ , what the-!" Dipper yelped, stepping backward away from him. Will laughed louder than he had in days at his reaction, bringing his knee up and going as far as to slapping it from how loud he was being. 

"Dipper, oh my stars. You looked like I just slapped you across the fa-!" 

Dipper quickly knelt down and put a thumb over one of the more powerful sprinklers, aiming it right at Will's face. In a flash, Will was gurgling and yelping for help and even mercilessly trying to bat the water away with his hands. But Dipper just kept pointing at him wherever he went.

"Dipper Pines, you just made one of the most powerful enemies you could- ow, what the _fuck_!" Will whined, slapping a hand over his eye where Dipper directly hit him. Oh, it was going to turn pink in the morning he knew it. 

Growling, Will crouched behind one of the larger sprinklers and looked around frantically for an escape. Dipper kept cackling. He scowled. 

His eyes locked in on a limp hose, and he lunged for it like his life depended on it. Which, in this case, it kind of did. He turned the rusty knob it was connected to (which was nailed to the grass) and it came alive to the point where he almost lost his hold on it. 

 _"I AM THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION!"_ he bellowed, whipping it around to face Dipper. 

Dipper was knocked off his feet, quite literally, as the powerful blast hit him square in the chest. He laughed, shakily getting up from where he was so he could direct the water closer to Dipper. 

But unfortunately for him, Dipper recovered quickly, running away from him as it was the only option left. They played a game of cat and mouse, running around in circles around other sprinklers with a very long garden hose in Will's hand. But they laughed, and laughed even louder when one of them almost caught the other in the water, and laughed the loudest if one slipped by accident. 

No one in the zoo had the heart to tell them to get off private property. Zoo keepers and gardeners just looked on, helpless when they saw how happy they looked. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw a zoo keeper just sigh in defeat and slam a key on a picnic table and walk away from the crime scene. Will swore he heard him grumble, "Love birds. Always a sucker for them."

It took quite a while for Will to finally catch up to Dipper, but when he did, the garden hose had long since been abandoned nearby and his body was so soaked that he felt five times as heavy as he came in. It was freezing out here, his toes were beginning to feel numb, but he couldn't care less. 

He tackled Dipper from behind, yelling "Gotcha!" before Dipper elbowed him in the rib, causing poor Will to heave from the sudden impact. But he didn't let go and Dipper tried some other methods, which included swearing him out, or kicking him from behind, and Will's most favorite, trying to run away with Will piggyback riding behind him. 

But Will didn't let him go, cackling like a psychopath as Dipper screamed bloody murder. 

"Will, what the heck did you eat before we get here? Two whole pigs and some eggs?!" Dipper complained, his knees eventually giving away to Will's weight. Will held him up, humming in his ear.

"Actually it was one fourth of a pig and some eggs, but I do admit that it's a lot!" Will chirped. His arms tightened around Dipper, just out of habit. 

"Will, you're squeezing me so tight I'm going to choke," Dipper wheezed, one heel digging into Will's toes in an attempt to get the other man off him. 

"Ha, sorry!" Will grinned, sounding not as sorry as Dipper probably wanted. He loosened his grip on Dipper, but not enough that Dipper could run away merrily from him. "You're just really cuddly!" he added. 

"I am _not_ cuddly!" Dipper huffed. "Dude, we're literally going to die from drowning in here, can we just-"

He stepped forward, one last time to try and get away from Will, but ultimately it failed. He slipped on a particularly muddy spot on the ground caused by the constant water stream and he shrieked going down. 

Will caught him around the waist, Dipper's body turned around to face him with his nails digging into Will's biceps. His heart pounding like ritual drums in his chest. And he should know, he's been called upon by ritual drums before!

His mind wandered to certain places, as it always did when the scene became overwhelming. Catching Dipper around the waist and turning him to face him was something straight out of a bad romance novel, and keeping silent while they stared at each other in 'awe' was just...bleh. 

Mabel would have loved to have this little moment written down, he knew.

His mind short-circuited looking down at Dipper like this. His hair was a darker shade of brown from the water, and he was so close to the other boy that he could count every single droplet down his face. Some trailed down to his chin and some stayed put, and some even- wait, where was he again?

Suddenly, Dipper looked up at his hair, pushed up from the constant hand-running sessions Will did to make sure it stayed out of his face. "You should keep your hair wet like that," Dipper murmured, catching William off guard, "It looks sexy."

The sudden comment shattered Will's wandering thoughts. Dipper's under-breath comments. Right. His lips curled up. "Did you just call me sexy?" he purred. 

Saying that Dipper was surprised was an understatement. The brunet's eyes went huge when the realization struck him like lightning and his grip on Will's biceps tightened. Will would have thought he would push him away, angry and flustered with himself. But Dipper stayed in his arms, in a frozen state of a dip during a tango. And oddly enough, Will didn't feel his arms ache as it would for keeping someone this long. His body felt...numb, looking at Dipper. 

Dipper cleared his throat, heels digging into the muddy grass. Will got his memo and set him straight from the dive- but Dipper's nails were still digging into his biceps. A little harder, even. Dipper started over, brow pulled together, and not once did they break eye contact.  

"You've had a dozen dates in the past- you told me that a million times already. Like c'mon, hadn't anyone told you that you were sexy?" he challenged. He was trying to cover up his mistake with boldness, something the old Dipper would have never done. Will's eyes lowered, just a little. 

"Well yes, but it's different from you," Will murmured. Almost as if he was admitting his deepest darkest secret. 

"How?" Dipper pushed. His brown eyes looked endless under the sunset. And definitely striking. 

"Well, for one, I lo-" _I love you._

But he swallowed it down. Those were three empty words and he knew it. Dipper would've never believed him anyway and saying it would make the whole situation a thousand times worst. So he swallowed the bile and the pride. 

"I like you, Dipper Pines. You're...fascinating." He chuckled right afterwards, forcing himself to smirk like it was just a silly game and Dipper was here to play it. And Dipper believed it.

He grumbled, but his eyes didn't betray hurt or the feelings Will was hoping for. "Fascinating. What a way to describe your friends, William."

 _I wasn't describing a friend,_ he almost said. But he bit it back, he knew saying it would cause more trouble, like everything he ever wanted to say to Dipper right in that moment. He knew one day Dipper had to know, if he wanted to ever have him back, but not today. He wasn't going to try and get shot from a single bullet just to impress. 

Finally, when their stares became too uncomfortable for Dipper who had thought they were nothing more than friends, he cleared his throat, his grip on Will's bicep easing as he stepped out of Will's arms. But the clumsy little human fell again.

This time, Will was not there to catch him. Dipper's hand shot out and grabbed his wet undershirt, dragging him to the ground with him. 

He fell on top of Dipper, his hands crying out in pain from shooting out to break his fall. His knees soaked through with the mud and he felt a little more than sore everywhere, but he cared more for the human apologizing over and over again in front of him. 

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean- you could- Will I'm sorry I didn't-" Dipper stammered. His eyes were wide with panic coming face to face with a disgruntled and grimacing Will. 

He didn't understand why Dipper looked so afraid, but he laughed anyway. Trying to calm the poor kid down, that stuff. Dipper looked like he just about had a heart attack right there and then, and Will tried to make humor of the situation as best as he could. That's what he was best at, anyway.

"Come on, Dipper, you know me better than that!" Will scolded. He shifted his weight, the grass squelching under him. "The grass is pretty comfy, if I do say so myself!" he said happily. 

Dipper laughed with him. His nose was a little red from how freezing it was outside, and Will found his mind wandering to places again. "Sure it is," Dipper teased, bringing Will out of his mind for a good few seconds, "Now look at what you've done to us, William! We're all soaked and we don't have any clothes around here to change into! Do you realize how bad it would be for me to be sick around this season? It's taboo, I can't-! Will, are you _listening_ to me?"

He didn't pay attention to any word Dipper said after, his eyes flickering over every close feature of the body. He could feel the warmth Dipper provided, their bodies pressed closer together than it had in years. "Will. _William_!" Whose voice was that again? He couldn't hear very well.

The whispering in his ears were enough. He hadn't heard those voices in weeks. 

They were all different from the other, until he almost couldn't hear what they were saying all together, but the hissing and the ringing forced him to not only listen, but to obey. 

_He's so close to you. Don't you want to taste him? His lips? His blood?_

He leaned in closer to Dipper, who in return tried to lean back. But there was not much he could do with Will right against him, Will's hands right on each side of him. His eyes were curious, questioning and somewhat bewildered. His short breaths were becoming short- Will should know, he was close. So, so close. 

"Wh- what are you..." Dipper's face morphed into a look, one that Will couldn't recognize. "O- oh...Will, wait- I- I don't think...that's a good..." he whispered. 

"Just relax for me," Will murmured. Dipper's hot breath fanned his face in short uneven breaths. "Trust me."  

They would have kissed. They would have, really. Dipper closed his eyes and waited for him, _and he was so damn close._

"Oh hey, there you guys are, I was looking for-!"

Eyes popping wide, Will and Dipper got off each other, the palms of Dipper's hands pushing Will right off. He sat a feet away from Dipper, dazed by what he had done. No, wait- that wasn't him. Was it? 

Dipper's face was devoid of any emotion, blank and cold. His lips were formed in a little 'o' of surprise, but that was all he was letting on for Will to see, or for anyone for that matter. For some reason, it cut into Will deeper than he allowed it. 

Wendy Corduroy looked at the two with her own set of wide eyes. Around them, the sprinklers had shut off, but he didn't remember them stopping. Now with the sudden reality, he felt colder than he did, his hair trickling water down to the damp grass. Dipper was no better. 

"Oh. _Oh_. Whoops! I- uh- you guys keep doing what you're doing- I'll just ah- Will, sorry bro, I didn't know you two-" Wendy blurted. 

Will cut her off with a wave of a hand, forcing himself up to his feet before it looked even more awkward to the people outside of their little group. He didn't hold up a hand for Dipper to take, as he would have done. He didn't ask Dipper if he was alright, or that he was sorry that it had happened, because something in him told him not to. That the plan was blown and he was going to lose his patience faster than anyone ever could. 

"Where's Damon?" Dipper said softly. Will almost cringed. 

Wendy didn't seem eager to reply to that. She glanced over at Will with apologetic eyes, for interrupting something that she wanted to happen and even planned for. He avoided her eyes. "He excused himself to use the washroom," Wendy explained, "he told me to go find you two because we had to go home. For something. I don't know. Damon's orders." She shrugged. 

Will bit back a retort. _It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair,_ he chanted. He felt like a little kid being so worked up about this, but he didn't know why. Something didn't settle right with his stomach. Every time he tried to make sense of it, his stomach was lit on fire and he fell in a way more nastier mood than before. 

"Yeah, home would be nice," Dipper chuckled. He shook out his hair a little to show Wendy what he meant. "I need to change my clothes and take a hot bath before Damon gets too mad at me."

Wendy laughed with him, leading the way back to the zoo's parking lot so they could finally go home. No fireworks, no nothing. It didn't bother William this time, as he would have thought. 

He scooped up his blazer on the way there, dragging it along unless he wanted it to become wet underneath his clothing. They walked in silence. Wendy didn't make any small talk the moment she made eye contact with him, knowing that talking about it would only make it worst. So she kept her mouth shut, walking right beside Dipper while William stayed behind.

His head throbbed like mad the moment they stepped out of view from the playground, and he found it funny that the whispering had stopped like they had lost interest in him. He grimaced down at the ground. They were going to come back soon. 

In front of him, Dipper shivered. People gave them looks when they walked by, but Will couldn't blame them. They were dripping wet and wore looks of stone- of course they would stare. 

He swallowed his pride, just one more time, to unfold his blazer and drape it over Dipper shoulders. Without a word, Dipper slipped it on, Will holding the shoulders of the jacket to help him slip in. Dipper held it tight to his chest, eyes glancing cautiously over to Will when he sidled up next to the pair silently. 

"Why did you give me your jacket?" _You know you didn't have to._

"I didn't want you to catch a cold."  _I didn't want you to think I didn't care._

* * *

He looked at himself, long and hard, in the body mirror of his room.

Will had just finished taking a hot shower to combat the cold reaching his human immune system, but it was mostly to think about what happened back there.

That wasn't him.

He stretched the bottom of his eyelid, turning his pupils all around in its socket. He did the same routine with his other eye, checking twice then to make sure he didn't blink by accident. The only thing different about them now was the slightly pink tint in one of them- from the sprinkle war of course.When he finally gave in and admitted defeat, he let go of his stinging eyes and blinked the dust away. 

He was fine. He was in control. 

Will sighed, taking the comb on top of his dresser to comb down his tangled mess of hair. He flicked the comb to the ground to cause the little droplets of water to disappear in the wood, his eyes set on his face to make it look even a tiny bit presentable. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to fix his hair or his eye-bags, it was clear something was bothering the demon. Furrowed brow, a stuck scowl, a shadow in his eyes- one look and someone would steer clear away from him. 

Little Bear, his only companion and friend as of now, snored on her little makeshift dog bed in the corner of the room, her hind legs kicked as she growled in her sleep. 

Will watched her curiously for a moment, before he rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, causing the dog to instantly stop whimpering and become limp. Nightmares. It seemed like he wasn't the only one thinking about nightmares.

He pulled on the last article of clothing he needed to put on left, which was a simple white tee that said 'I Heart LA' in the front. A gift from an acquaintance back in- well, LA. It didn't bring pleasant memories, but it didn't bring back terrible ones either. His stomach growled soon after he pulled it on. 

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to get a midnight snack downstairs, Will wandered away from his attic, taking extra care on where he put his foot on the creaky stairs. It was well past twelve in the morning, anyway. Waking up anyone in the house was going to cost him trouble.

The moment he had dropped to the last step and tried to flick the lights on, he was surprised to see that the lights itself were already up. He glanced at the light switch for a long while before he looked into the living room, curious as to who could stay awake at such a time. The Grunkles were knocked out way before eight, and Damon and Dipper always stayed locked up in their rooms until sunrise. 

Dipper was reading a book on the sofa chair.

Will snuck up behind him, hands behind his back as he looked down at what the boy was reading. To his amusement, Dipper was wearing a monocle. And even funnier, the monocle was an old brand, making Dipper look twice as 'serious' as he usually did. So that was what Dipper was substituting for his glasses this whole time. 

"He dies in two chapters, by the way," Will said. 

Dipper didn't even jump in surprise from the sound of his voice, instead grumbling something under his breath and closing the book without even putting a mark in it. "Wow, thanks," he said sarcastically, "I guess I won't be needing that book anymore."

Will chuckled from his dry response. He stood there, right behind Dipper while the brunet massaged his temples, legs crossed and eyes closed like he was trying to expel a headache. Will shifted his weight from foot to foot, pinching the bridge of his nose while he looked away from Dipper. 

It felt like forever until his throat miraculously started working again. "So uh...have fun finding another book to read," he mumbled awkwardly. He shifted his weight to his left foot, his whole body screaming at him to just leave and walk away before he did something he regretted. 

As if he was tasered, Dipper's eyes snapped open and he looked behind him, right at Will with wide, frightened eyes that should've belonged to a deer caught in the headlights. "Don't leave," he whimpered. 

To say he was surprised was understatement. The utter panic in the other's voice was enough for him to stay stuck to the ground, as if going against Dipper's words would burn him alive. He blinked, once, then twice. When he found his voice again, it sounded too soft. "I won't," he told the other. Not again, not after he lost Dipper once. 

Dipper rose from his spot on the old sofa chair, the rusty springs creaking as Dipper did so. And then he whirred around to face Will, a look on his face that Will couldn't place. But it was familiar, and he knew enough that he didn't like it.

"Can we just..." Dipper begged, his words trailing off. He squeezed his eyes shut, the tense silence drawing a little too long. When he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, there was a plea in his eyes that genuinely made Will confused. "Can we just talk about what happened? For like two minutes? Please?"

Will recoiled. The same stones in his stomach turned, feeding off his jealousy and his anger like coal was to fire. He forced it down, giving Dipper a stiff shrug in reply before his awaited response drew out. 

"William, I'm trying to be serious here," Dipper whispered. He knew if it was the middle of day and everyone was out, Dipper would be screaming at him, demanding him for what he was trying to do. Somehow, the thought soothed him. That he wasn't the only one angry.

"I tried to kiss you," Will said, almost spitting out his words at Dipper. "I lost control and I tried to. _Tried,_ Dipper. Now will you leave me alone?"

At this, he would have forced his feet to move and march into the kitchen, vowing himself into silence. But his legs stopped working and he was forced to look into Dipper's eyes. Seeing the sadness and apology in them, Will almost screamed his head off. 

He didn't want pity. He didn't want Dipper to treat him like some bad case of a disease going around. He didn't want this, but _it was all his fault._

"Then tell me why!" Dipper cried. He clamped his mouth closed, eyes glancing up the staircase in case someone had tried to eavesdrop them. When it was clear no one was, he looked back at Will with the same desperation in his eyes that Bill Cipher had seen when McGucket's laptpp almost came down in flames. The sudden memory made him inhale deep, like a stab to the gut. Dipper took it as something else. "Tell me, Will! I promise I won't say anything bad, I-"

"Why are you so obsessed about that one stupid mistake?" Will interrupted, his quickly rising anger spilling over the top. He promised himself he would never raise his voice at Dipper, or argue with him to the point it drove them both insane. Yet here he was, looking like he wanted to wrap his arms around Dipper's throat and throttle him. "Why don't you stick your head back in the books where it belongs and just leave the stupid thing alone?!"

Dipper's jaw clenched, his innocent let-me-help-you face turning into one of frustration. "Because you tried to _kiss_ me! News flash, Will, people don't kiss other people on the fucking lips unless they liked that person, so-"

"It was one stupid kiss, Dipper, _one,_ " Will snapped. "Obviously you like Damon way more than I do and I get it. I really do, Dipper. One kiss wouldn't change anything and I thought, 'hey let me give it a shot!' and it just- didn't go right, okay? Now leave it." His tone took a threatening edge. 

Dipper was having none of it. "That almost-kiss isn't bothering you," he said softly. "Something else is. Tell me. Will, I'm being serious, there's no way in hell I'd-"

Will cut him off with a humorless laugh. "You really think that?" he asked. "You really think that telling you the truth wouldn't affect you like it did to me? Why are you even _asking_ me?"

"Because it's been bothering me since it happened!" Dipper blurted. His frustration felt thick in the air, blending with Will's useless anger. It was like a game on who could crack first. For now, they were tied. "After you tried to kiss me and Wendy interrupted us, that was literally all I could think about and I couldn't even try and _sleep_ because of it. Damon went out to get me some food because he thought I was depressed about not seeing the fireworks when it's really just you, Will! I- I don't know what's wrong with me, I don't know why it keeps bothering me this much, but it does, and- and I need an answer before I-"

"Can't you just crawl back to your stupid boyfriend?!" Will snarled. 

One snap. That was all it took. Just one sentence for Dipper to break and now it wasn't a game on who could crack, but a game on who could _leave._ Dipper's eyes darkened and his fists curled by his side, and Will could've sworn he saw the other shaking _._ "Why the hell are you being such an asshole, Will? I'm trying to help you, nothing else!" 

"Are you really trying to help me, or are you trying to help yourself?" Will snapped back. "You said it was bothering you and you needed an answer. For what? To know if I really do like you?"

When Dipper stayed quiet, the question hanging in the air like a clean fish hook, Will laughed again. Dry and humorless, little pinpricks needling the sides of his stomach and brain. 

Suddenly, he wanted to cut Dipper open. He wanted to take Dipper's literal heart and feed it to his dog. He wanted to taste Dipper's blood and see if it was as sweet as his screams. He wanted to torture Dipper, he wanted to _break_ him, and keep him locked away forever. Just for himself. Just for him, Dipper would scream and cry and everything above. 

No. He didn't want that. That was the very last thing he wanted. _No, no, no-_ he- he didn't want that to happen. He wanted Dipper happy. He didn't, he didn't, he didn't...

But the voices did. They wanted to break Dipper beyond repair and they wanted Will to agree. 

"Are you serious, Dipper?" he found himself scoffing. It came out of him, like it was forced out, like his body was in lock down and his mind and voice were the only things working. "It's one thing to like you, but lead me on then drop me like I'm some rag doll?!" _No, no, no..._

"That's- that's not what I was trying to do," Dipper stammered. Funny, coming from him, since Dipper couldn't even meet his eyes for more than five seconds at a time. "I- I wasn't going to kiss you back. It's just a misunderstanding, really, you're-"

The laugh that cut Dipper off this time was familiar. Echoing, chilling laughter that could only belong to a psychopath. A psychopath named Bill Cipher. 

No matter how hard Will tried to become human, to shed away his demon form like some plastic suit, the demon in him was attached to his spine and brain permanently. One day he was going to kill Dipper Pines. And he was going to like it. 

"Here I was, thinking that you actually liked me," he chuckled. Dipper listened to him speak, seeming more and more hurt with each word he spoke. 

 _He's hurt,_ the voices spoke softly. _Keep talking to him. Then you'll get what you want._

"That everything I ever did, you finally noticed, and you liked that, so you tried to kiss me back. Then you pull away, you act like it's nothing, that _I_ was nothing, and that everything I felt about you was _nothing_!" At this, he basically shouted the last word, and he was glad that the two Stans' old ears picked up on almost nothing. Dipper flinched, jaw locked and his eyes wide with terror. He didn't know why. He didn't hurt Dipper. Not yet. So why must he be afraid?

"I don't fucking care if you think it was just one kiss, Dipper, because that moment hasn't left my stupid human brain since it happened. It may be just a kiss for you but it literally means everything to me, Dipper, everything and you took that from me! Fine, you're happy with Damon, I get this, I respect that, I respect all of your decisions and I- I'm more than willing to wait more than a whole millennium to wait for you to l- like me back, but do you seriously have to _tease_ me? Make me come out as a _fool_?" He laughed. Tears prickled at the corners of his vision. But it was out of anger. He tended to do that. And his little voices were no help. They purred at him to keep going, to keep talking, that one more push was all it took and he could have Dipper. 

"You made me think that you're willing to kiss me and- and be with me, and for _what? What_ , Dipper? I never wanted this, you didn't either, but everything about you just- just- makes me so mad and I can't stop that because I was so close to having you but it was always Damon, always, always, _alwa_ -!"  he was shouting, screaming, all hysterically. 

He didn't realize that Dipper had stopped listening to him a long time ago. He didn't realize that the brunet had taken a bold step forward, eyes set and jaw locked for a reason he thought was because of anger. 

Fists curled tightly around his collar, pulling him closer to Dipper. Pulling his _lips_ to Dipper's.

They were as good as he remembered Dipper's kisses. Soft and sweet, no matter how angry the brunet was at him. They pushed against Will's a little rougher than he remembered, his lips working against his to force Will to kiss back. And he did- his lips eagerly moved and his arms wounded around Dipper's waist, pulling the human closer. They didn't stop after a peck. They didn't want to stop.

His fire burnt out like a candle wick as soon as Dipper pressed his lips harder against his, the fingers curled in his collar not once loosening. Dipper sighed against his face, a tingle coming down Will's spine almost delicately. He wanted to do more to Dipper. He needed it. 

They didn't hear the front door being fumbled open until it was too late. They didn't hear the sound of a gruff voice calling out for Dipper, and they certainly didn't hear the sharp inhale with it. 

It was only when they heard Damon speak for the second time did they acknowledged their surroundings and pulled away like the other was plagued with poison. 

"I knew it," Damon whispered. Clutched in one hand was a plastic bag filled with what Will assumed were ice cream. The other hand clutched a bouquet of flowers- red roses. Damon chuckled darkly. "I fucking _knew it._ " 

"Damon-" Dipper breathed. 

" _No_ ," Damon snapped. He dropped the bag and the roses to the ground. "No, don't talk to me. I'm- I'm going outside to think. If the both of you want to make out in the middle of the living room, be my guest." 

He stomped over the roses on his way out the back door of the gift shop, as more of the forest was visible through there. No words were exchanged for a long while. 

Then beside him, thinking that Dipper had chosen him when he didn't speak, had ran to where Damon marched off. He called for his boyfriend, for his lover. Not once did he turn to acknowledge William's existence and what they had just done. 

Will was left to stand there, watching Dipper disappear and slip through his fingers for the second time. 

Somewhere, someplace, perhaps in his head or outside of his own presence- someone cackled. It sounded exactly like him. Like Bill. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What haha no, I totally did not make the time skip two weeks because I haven't updated in two weeks and that makes it angstier since that means Will has to endure that long watching the love of his life be with someone else, what of course not. 
> 
> You all were yearning, BEGGING, for them to kiss, and I delivered. Let this be a lesson- be careful what you wish for *awkward wink*. I regret nothing. And I also do not regret next chapter's problems *double awkward wink*.


	16. If You Wish Upon A Shooting Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Womp womp, I got a message!** There's some abuse here. Plus, panic attacks from our precious cinnamon roll. It's not that heavy anyway, pinky promise. I've had panic attacks before, and lemme tell you, they aren't pretty and poetic, so hopefully I get that one even just a tad bit right. But the abuse here is something I have never experienced before (And I hope none of you as well omg) so I had to go to Plan B. So yeah, t'is all, just a heads up :,D.

_"This is me tonight_  
_There's no more games and no more lies_  
_And I know it's right_  
_Cause of the way you look into my eyes_  
_And when I hold you tight_  
_The worries disappear I'm glad you're in my life_  
_Wake up feel the air that I'm breathing_  
_I can't explain this feeling that I'm feeling_  
_I won't go another day without you."_

**[Without You | AJ Rafael](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh7iqK97OAQ)**

* * *

"Damon, _Damon_!" Dipper cried out in exasperation. "Please, let's just talk about this, I-"

"-you what?" Damon called back. His voice was just as bitter as it was back in the living room. "You're _sorry?_ You're sorry that you got together with the one guy you promised me to never worry about? You're _sorry_ for making out with that same guy shamelessly in the middle of _our_ house?!"

His voice carried through the empty Shack, loud and harsh. It took all of Dipper's might to force his legs to jump forward, to keep reaching out for Damon before all hell broke loose. The moment his hand touched his boyfriend's shoulder, he sprang back, as if Damon was hot lava.

Damon stopped dead in his tracks. But it wasn't because he wanted to hear Dipper's excuses. Oh, no, never that. 

"Damon, come on. At least let me explain things to you, then you could-" Dipper begged.

He almost stepped backward in surprise as Damon whipped around, body tensed and ready to snap at Dipper if all else failed. His green eyes were light with anger, giving it off a menacing glow of darkness. There were only two times Dipper had seen him so angry, but never had he seen Damon look so... _vicious._ It nearly made Dipper nauseous by simply looking at him. 

"Then I could _what?_ Move out so you and William could share a bed? Pretend like nothing happened and pretend that you and that idiot were having an affair _right behind my back_?" Then he laughed, laughed so humorlessly that Dipper felt himself shrink, felt himself become weaker in this damn shithole of a situation. 

"That was the first time I kissed him," he said, words too soft to sound genuine. "There wasn't another time I kissed him or did anything else you didn't like, I swear. You- you told me not to and I did, I'd never-"

When Damon took a step forward, he stepped backward almost immediately. Right behind him was the backdoor. Just a couple steps and Damon would be out the door. And he could leave him alone and all of this would be just a cruel nightmare. Right?

"First time. Oh, so it was your first time kissing Will then, huh?" Damon laughed, words bitter and very, very sour. It was like he was challenging Dipper.

"Yes!" Dipper cried. He forced his gaze to Damon's dark eyes, willing him to believe everything he said. "Damon, I don't even _like_ him! Y- you know exactly how my mind works- it's like- I know the only way to shut him up was to distract him with _something_ and it just-"

"-so instead of asking him to shut up for whatever reason, or instead of calling me to handle this shit with you, you _kiss_ him?" Damon asked, incredulous. He shook his head at Dipper, obviously disgusted with him. He grabbed his head, ripping off his gray old hat to toss it away from himself, looking more and more angered the more Dipper decided to try and reason with him. "Dipper, there are a hundred ways you could have prevented that from happening but instead you _chose_ to kiss him, you _chose_ to be with him, and you _chose_ to cheat on me!"

Dipper didn't flinch this time. He was too focused on his racing heart to even try. The anger in Damon's eyes were getting thicker and thicker, until eventually that was all that shrouded in the other's face. If there was something fragile nearby, it most likely would've been broken by now. Almost cowardly, Dipper put his hands up to his chest, his words shaky and panicked.

"Damon, I would never, _ever_ cheat on you. You- you know that. I'm not that type of guy who just- whores around and-"

"But Will is." Damon scowled. His fists clenched by his sides, shaking and trembling by his sides. But unlike Dipper, it was not from fear. Never from fear did Dipper's boyfriend shake or spit out words so bitterly. "And I'm more than willing to bet you'd whore around with him."

"It was an accident!" Dipper blurted, voice cracking for the first time in so long. Damon stepped forward. He stepped back. "Damon, I'm sorry, _I'm sorry,_ I didn't-!" he pleaded.

Forward. Back. His heartbeat sped up. His breathing labored and suddenly all he could see was Damon's disappointed face. And that was so much worst than anger.

"Damon!" Dipper cried out. _Stop it, stop it, stop it._ "Damon, I said I was _sorry_ , it's never going to happen again, just please let me-"

A sharp pain in the back of his neck blossomed, and his neck was abruptly twisted to the sky. Pinpricks of tears were shot in the corners of his eyes, but Dipper refused to cry. If he started crying all of this would get messier. 

"Honestly, you think I wouldn't find out about your little secret with William?" Damon screamed at him. William's name was like poison on the man's tongue, the syllables rolling out like it disgusted him to no end. The pain in Dipper's neck grew, and he fought back the urge to scratch at his neck.

"W- what secret?" Dipper choked out.

Damon pulled harder on his hair, a yelp almost escaping past Dipper's lips. If Damon pulled any harder, the hair would've been ripped clean off, and this probably wouldn't be the first time. "You know what I'm talking about, Dipper!" Damon snarled. "Do you think it was funny to make fun of me? Do you think my reaction to seeing the both of you making out was so hilarious that you decided to intentionally get caught in the middle of the fucking _living room_?"

"I was going to kiss him on the cheek," Dipper blurted out. "I- I don't know why I went for the lips, Damon, I swear. Then- then the both of us just got tangled up and- and-"

"So you wanted to peck him on the cheek?" Damon asked, incredulous. His grip on Dipper's hair tightened. "Lead him on no matter what? Tell him you like him? Tell him that everything we had was absolutely nothing to you?"

"No!" he screamed, his throat burning with sobs. But he didn't let them escape. He hasn't cried in three years. Now should be no different. "I told you, what happened is nothing to me! It just _did_ , Damon. If I could've stopped it, I would've. I would've told Will to get out of the house for trying to break us up-"

His elbows screamed in pain as Damon pushed him down to the ground, forcing his arms to take the hit. The back of his head, where Damon had grabbed him, was throbbing painfully, to the point that Dipper was afraid some of his hair were pulled out. The panic rose in his throat, turning his vision into blurs and blackened edges, like a television about to go out. 

"Look at me, Dipper," Damon snapped. "Are you stupid? Do you think _I'm_ stupid? How worthless could you be, to jump on the second guy who said he took a liking to you? You thought you were lucky to have one person to always be there for you, but the moment someone else does, it's like a fucking miracle to you! You said you were smarter than that, you said you were okay with me and only me, but then you turn around and fuck around with someone else like fucking slut you are!"

Breathe in. Breathe out. _Just like Grunkle Ford said,_ he tried to chant in his head. _Don't think, don't think about the pain, you're alright, you're not going to die this time, you're safe, you're-_

"Dipper!" Damon bellowed, his eyes flashing with anger when he realized that dipper only blankly stared back at him. He didn't realize that Dipper was having a meltdown, and that made it so much worst. _Breathe,_ he sobbed. _Breathe, Dipper. He's not going to hurt you. You're safe, you're okay, no one is here to hurt you._

"Look. At. Me."

He didn't want to. He knew looking up at Damon would just make the clenched fist around his chest and head and lungs and _everything_ would make it so much worst. He knew looking at Damon would do nothing but cause more conflict.

Yet he lifted his head, breaths coming in and out of his mouth slowly, as his eyes fixed on Damon's. The blackened edges around his vision were starting to darken. It made him feel claustrophobic. Vulnerable. About to die.

"I have given you _everything_ you could ever want, Dipper," he said softly, his words cracking with betrayed emotions. Damon shook his head at him, slowly, as if he was a disappointed parent. His eyes were bloodshot with tears, the only sign that Damon was truly affected by what he saw. "I made you feel better, I stayed with you, I gave you absolutely _everything._ But you still think I'm not good enough."

"You are," Dipper pleaded, eyes wide as he tried to get Damon to try his point of view. But his lover was fading away, and the thought was scary than anything he could ever thought imaginable. "Damon, _you are._ I- I don't wanna be with anyone else. Please don't leave me, _please please please._ I- I can't-"

"If you didn't want me to leave, then you should've stayed faithful to me!" Damon screamed at him. The crack in his voice made Dipper wince, the guilt in his stomach growing and growing as he kept talking. "What is it that he has that I don't? Were you lying about Will saving you and wanting to pay back because all you wanted was to have him closer to you? Is it the money you want from him? Or is it just because he's a hundred times better than me in your eyes?"

"Damon-" he begged.

 _"Tell me!"_ he shouted, his words louder and barbaric, like he was losing his mind. If a person saw their partner cheating on them, of course they'd be crazy. But Damon was downright scary. And it froze Dipper to the spot. 

 _"TELL ME!"_ he screamed, eyes set on Dipper's crippled form on the ground. They were desperate. Angry. Betrayed. But most of all- sad. Like knew Dipper was going to cheat on him one day but didn't expect it to be this soon.

When he didn't speak out of fear, and of how hard it was getting to breathe, Damon turned right around, his face hardened as he threw the only mug on the counter (one that had belonged to his Grunkle Stan) and shattered it against the opposite wall, dangerously close to where Dipper laid on the ground. 

The sound of glass shattering, and of the shrill crunch of glass being severely loud in Dipper's ears, had forced his body into lockdown. 

Every bone and muscle in his body felt stiff as he laid on the ground, looking up at Damon with helpless, widen eyes as his chest heaved, one quick breath after the other. Damon was too busy being angry to notice Dipper's alarm, his own emotions getting the best of him. 

No one can help him. His Grunkles were too far into the house to hear. He was alone, all alone, _all, all alone._..

"Am I nothing to you, Dipper?!" Damon shouted, fingers tangled in his own messy hair as he paced the floor in front of Dipper. "Am I?!"

"I can't..." 

His swift green eyes, ones that seemed to glow in the dim lighting of the moon, turned to look at him in disgust. "Are you not going to answer me? Are you so dense that you can't even tell the difference between infidelity and loyalty? Why can't you just tell me if you want Will?!" he demanded, the fingers in his hair pulling so, so hard. 

"I- I don't!" he stammered, the force behind his words too weak to be taken seriously. But he tried, of course he tried, to see if he could get through to his boyfriend, to see if all of this was just a nightmare. " _He's_ nothing to me, Damon! Please, j- just help me- I- I can't-"

Damon crouched down by his side, his eyes staring into Dipper's pleading face with a set determination. He almost sobbed with relief, thinking that his boyfriend finally believed him, but that never the case when two stubborn people had two stubborn outlooks in a scene. 

His face was jolted to the left, forcing his right eye close in pain. And his cheek throbbed, his ears rang, and his chest tightened with more pain. It wasn't enough to bruise in the morning, no, Damon was smarter than that, but it hurt, and the fact that Damon had hurt him again hurt even more. 

"Do _not_ lie to me, Dipper," Damon hissed, his face contorted in anger. But the moment he had seen Dipper look at him in complete pain, his angered look disappeared into a pained one. Not as pained as Dipper's, but it was there. It made it that much harder for Dipper to answer. "Just the tell me the truth and all of this is going to be over," he whispered, his brows knitting in concern, "I promise."

"I do want you, I do," Dipper blurted out, the relief flooding into his tone. "You told me you'd protect me to the ends of times and I believe that, and Will can't if he can't even take care of himself. You- you told me I could do anything I want with you, and I don't want to be with _him._ I- I want to be with you, I swear I do, nothing is going to change that!"

Damon's face shadowed over. He wasn't happy with Dipper's answer. Not even a little bit. 

"Please," Dipper sobbed out. "You told me you'd never leave me to be broken again. I don't- I don't want to feel alone again. Damon-"

"Then be alone with Will," Damon snapped. He stood up from where Dipper sat on the ground, his face still shadowed by what he thought was Dipper's half-heartened reply. "I'm going to take a walk and clear my head. We'll see if I forgive you. But don't talk to me until I do, or else I'm going to do something worst than leaving you alone, Mason."

Sullenly, Dipper lifted a clenched fist up to his chest and placed it there, kneading the spot where it hurt the most. Everything hurt. His cheek, his chest, his muscles- nothing seemed to be relaxed being fixed under Damon's intense gaze.

His shortened breaths were coming in shorter and shorter, and the lack of oxygen was taking a toll on him. His shoulders ached, badly, and his head was starting to feel lightheaded. Everything seemed out of focus, everything around him were blurs, everything except Damon. He stuck out like a sore thumb to Dipper, even as his temples pounded and his heart seemed to squeeze out hard every few seconds, like a broken pump. 

He felt like he was coming underwater and everyone there was seeing it, but no one chose to help. Not even the man he trusted the most. 

" _Damon_..." he wheezed out, the name so faint on his lips. 

Damon's anger washed away in an instant. His flamed eyes were replaced by the concern and panic that Dipper was more than glad to see. His boyfriend's eyes were wide, lips forming faint words that Dipper couldn't hear, even as Damon shouted them. 

A blur of motion made Dipper felt nauseous, something firm being pressed down on both of his shoulders. Warm and clammy were the words he'd describe how he felt right now. And cold. And And terrified.

One blink of his eyelids and Dipper was looking at the face of his boyfriend, of the one he knew he loved. Damon's lips were shouting words at him, shaking his shoulders slightly to get him back to reality. But Dipper was out of it, his mind off the track of absolutely everything. Not even when Damon slapped him again, to force him back. Not even when Damon said he was going to stay, that he was going nowhere. 

His jaw was forced open by strong hands, and he couldn't stop it as something small, something blue in the shape of a capsule, had been placed on his tongue. Damon begged for him to swallow it, to even just try, and the heartbreak and panic in his voice forced Dipper to do just that, even as it went down his throat hard and painful. 

It took him exactly eight minutes to calm down. 

The whole time, he felt like his soul was being sucked out of body. His head was pounding hard and heavy, his mind too tired to process anything thoughts to make him feel any better or worst. Eventually, everything seemed to collapse down on him. His heartbeat slowed down, to the point that the thumping was no longer loud and persistent in his ears. The pain there was downgraded to a simple throb, enough to ignore it.

Everything would've moved along quicker if someone was there to be by his side, to rub his back and tell him everything would be alright. But Damon disappeared to take that walk of his, not before kissing Dipper on the forehead and telling him that he'll back to take care of Dipper personally himself. 

Dipper knew it wasn't smart to believe him, but he did. 

Even with knowing that Damon was probably five miles away from Shack to the heart of town, Dipper found himself feeling disappointed as he sat, cross-legged, in the middle of the Shack. He breathed, in and out, as Ford had taught him and told him over and over to do. As long as he remembered to breathe, he was alright. He was safe. He was home.

He brought a shaky hand up to his chest and started to knead, just out of habit. Eyes closed, he counted backwards from one hundred, to calm himself down. One hundred, ninety nine, ninety eight...

Something felt stuck in between his collarbone and throat. His head made him feel light and dizzy again. Nothing made sense anymore.

He clutched his sweaty shirt, feeling himself shake to the very core. As cold as it was outside, it wasn't the autumn night that made him feel naked. His stomach fluttered and churned at the thought. 

Shakily, when everything was clearing up and sitting on the floor made him feel awkward, Dipper tried to stand up. His legs nearly collapsed underneath him, knees buckling until it hurt. Dipper gritted his teeth and pushed himself harder, using the wall to gain some leverage. The broken glass were scattered everywhere, to corners and under furniture. He stepped on some, cringing at the crunch it always made. But he kept going.

Out the door, into the hallway, and into the bathroom. His hand against the wall guided him in the right direction in the darkness.

He locked the door as soon as he came in, flicking the lights on. Almost immediately, the back of his eye burned. The fake one nearly popped out of its socket, as gross as it sounded. He fought through the blindness, blinking twice to adjust to the bright lighting.

He walked sullenly to the sink, bending over it to turn on the tap. Ice cold water sputtered from the sink. He pushed his hands towards the streaming, almost hissing and pulling back in turn. The water was cold, yes, but he had to deal with it. Cold water was needed for his situation. 

Bending all the way over and closing his eyes, Dipper splashed his face with the water, the adrenaline from the cold kicking in to his systems. He now felt more awake than ever, feeling his heartbeat finally get into a good rate. He breathed in deep before splashing himself more, dampening his shirt by accident from it. He couldn't care less.

He did two more times, before he rubbed at his face and eyes and nose to finally get anymore sweat off. Feeling refreshed, he looked at himself in the mirror. 

No bruises on the cheek, no sign of anything happening between them other than the wistful look in his face.

He stared at himself for a few more minutes, his breaths coming in longer and heavier, until the familiar lodge in between his throat and collarbone grew. And grew, and grew. Until eventually, it became too much and Dipper bent back over the marble sink, belching and throwing up yellow bile and everything he ate within twenty four hours. 

He threw up twice, the second time harder and scratchier than the last. By the end of it, he was sure that his stomach was nothing but a deflated organ, considering that by the third time he had belched, nothing came up but a short string of tainted yellow saliva. The sink smelled like sour food, which only made him want to throw up another time.

Thankfully, nothing came out, and he breathed in deep through his nose, tilting his head to the ceiling to stop wafting his own gross vomit. The grimace on his face tightened when his chest squeezed yet again, and his hand went instinctively to it. 

He rubbed at his chest, feeling the damp fabric of his shirt from both sweat and water with it. And sadly, some vomit stains too. He gulped, bringing both of his shaking hands up to his sore eyes to rub at them, blinking at his reflection in the dirty speckled mirror. He should remind one of his Grunkles that the bathroom should be cleaned out soon, but things were more important than bathroom hygiene. 

Including changing out of clothes, and looking for a certain blond who seemed to have disappeared.

He looked at his sullen face in the mirror one last time, right before he turned around and left the bathroom, leaving the vomit stains and smell in the sink. Someone can clean that up, he didn't feel like looking after himself. 

Dipper walked down the dark hallway, with his hand brushing against the wall for him to collapse on in case he felt lightheaded, and for navigation. Turning on the lights seemed too much work. He shook his head slightly to the side, breathing in and out deeply to calm himself down. Guiding himself back to his room would be easy enough. Just turn a few corners, watch where he went in case Chip sneaked back home, and viola, he would be there.

As expected, no complications stopped him to get into his room. The hallway where his room belonged was darker than the outside, and he nearly tripped on his own feet, but he got there. When he flicked his lights open to reveal the same old room with the same old bed, Dipper couldn't help but feel that everything felt just...a little bit different. Like walking into a room with everything shifted two inches to the right. Nothing too different, but it was odd.

The creaks as he stepped further into the room seemed to be megaphoned, making him cringe and pause with every step. He didn't even bother closing the door behind him to make sure no one caught him changing, knowing perfectly well that someone walking into him was almost a zero percent chance. So he simply made his way to his dresser, opened it up, and found a new shirt. 

The paranoia lingered as always, and he took one quick look around his room and stared at the door for a few moments before he discarded his shirt, quickly pulling in the new one. The old one was balled up and thrown in the laundry, the process of everything only taking a few seconds.

Before he could step out of the room again to find William, the nausea kicked back in and he was forced to support himself on the dresser, hands firmly pressed against the wooden top. Dipper kept his mouth shut tight, afraid to throw up all over the carpet and dresser. He knew exactly how that would end up. 

Just as it came, the dizziness was gone. One moment of panic and everything was back to normal with him sulking in the middle of his room. 

He blinked once. Twice. Blurry vision was his best friend nowadays.

Dipper rubbed the side of his head, tempted to slam his head against the wall for being so against him today. Nothing was going right and his own body seemed to prove that to him. He was getting closer and closer to the day he died of a heart attack and somehow that didn't even mildly bother him anymore. 

The only reason his vision seemed to clear up and finally let him have his peace was when his eyes locked on the brightest thing on his messy dresser top, a blue smudge in his blurred state. He blinked again, shaking his head in all different directions to try and get it to clear faster like a pinball machine. 

He stared back at a beautiful full bloom blue rose, still rigid and upright in its clear clean vase. It looked wonderful looking at it up close, as it always had. Counting the petals and curves were always Dipper's favorite ways to calm down from the stress of work or stress in general.

He brought two fingers up to his face, letting it linger on his lips before pressing it close in a kiss, touching those same fingers to the petals of the rose. It bristled under his touch, and Dipper's eyes slumped in a tired state. Retracting his fingers to tuck back in his folded arms, he let out a loosened sigh, head tilted to the side as he counted the curves of the rose.

Peculiarly, the stem of the rose had no thorns. He shouldn't be complaining about that anyway, considering how the rose itself was _blue._ Not even dyed roses could be this vibrant. Especially staying that colorful for nearly three years. Or, staying alive for that long as well.

When he came home to the Shack to find a blue rose on his counter, of course that was the first thing he asked of his family. His Grunkles had no idea who left it behind, but Ford seemed almost panicked at his question. Before Ford could jump into any more conclusions (as the old scientist usually did), Damon spoke up and told him he'd put it there. As a gift, he told him. 

Five months in their relationship rolled in and Dipper finally noticed that the plant hadn't lost a petal, or even drooped. It was very much clear that it was a real rose, and he asked. Damon said it was a dyed rose, and dyed roses were supposed to live that long. Dipper believed him. After all, he wasn't a florist. 

He counted exactly forty petals, typical of a full bloom . And he recounted them. Then again.

He was on his fourth recount, on the second petal, when one of them fell. A single petal simply broke off, then fell to the platform of the dresser like a slow caress of the wind. 

Dipper only stared at it. A petal falling shouldn't be a big deal. A rose dying in general shouldn't be a big chagrin. It was just a rose that seemed to keep its spark for a couple years and it was time to rot, as everything should be. 

Yet the horror in his stomach settled in, like he had just watched something dear to him die. And sure, the rose was his only way to calm down truly, but he could always get another. So why did he feel as if he should feel much more horrified, much more troubled, at the sight of a single fallen petal?

Deciding that pondering over something as small as a plant was more than ridiculous, Dipper turned his gaze away from it. He'll remember to change the water in the morning. Maybe that was it. 

Lucky little Dipper just happened to be right in the spot to trip on the one thing he promised himself he would try and remember in the morning. He fell, thumping to the ground with a sound of a yelp escaping in between his lips. He propped himself on his elbows, glaring at the ground like it was its fault.

He looked back and caught sight of his string backpack, the exact same one he brought to the zoo. His brow furrowed in thought. It seemed like years ago when they came to that place. But it was only a mere hour or three ago. Of course the world would point at it and mock him about it.

And right. The picture. Of Will. And him. Which looked a lot like a couple's...

Dipper wanted to smack himself hard in between the brows. Of course Damon was jealous and angry with Will. Of course he had every right to knock sense into Dipper. Will and him looked like a _couple,_ in every single way, more than Damon and him would ever seem like. 

The guilt had to wait, apparently. He promised William he'd bring the picture home safe and bring it to him, no matter what. That included having a fallout with his own boyfriend over, uh...things friends shouldn't be doing. He trusted Will, anyway. Whatever Will was trying to do, and what he _did_ do, Dipper was confident that he didn't do it to cause any trouble. 

Maybe the guy was in his room right now, the guilt eating him alive as much as it was doing to Dipper.

Talking, Dipper found, was much better of a solution than shunning someone out. 

So Dipper rummaged through the backpack, took out the perfectly safe picture (Dipper sighed in relief), and stood up. He contemplated whether or not he should look for a picture frame for it to be put on, but thought against it. Will would do it. Besides, he wanted William to see the message he was going to write on the back.

Dipper did just that. He took out a sharpie marker in one of his drawers and scribbled out some words, before capping the marker to put it in his mouth to chew on as he stared back at his own rushed handwriting. _This is stupid,_ he told himself bluntly. Stupid and weird and William was most definitely never going to take him seriously ever again. But Will was his friend, maybe the only friend he could rely on completely, and something as short of a sorry and thank you was more than enough for Dipper to show him that.

He snatched up the picture and tossed the marker somewhere in the depths of his and Damon's room, making his way out the door to find the attic. He left his door wide open. 

Thankfully, the attic wasn't very far. Just a short walk in which he nearly stepped on a sleeping Chip's tail. With the picture in his left hand, he climbed the stairs to the attic. Creakily, he would've add, but everything about the Shack was worn out- even the new things. If that made sense.

"William?" he said softly, only loud enough for the ones inside the attic to hear.

No response.

"William," he said again, a little louder. He was nearing the last step of the stairs. "I really need to talk to you. If that's...okay. Look, I'm not mad at you for what you did, I'm just-"

A snore caught him off guard, and Dipper nearly fell down the stairs. Leave it to William to sleep after an angsty fallout. 

Dipper looked wildly around his room, trying to catch sight of the snoring beast to deliver the picture. Maybe hide it under a pillow or next to his bedside or something of the sorts. He'll think of something. Secretly, Dipper was glad that he didn't have to talk to another big tempered person. He took enough hits this past month to last him years. 

Weirdly, the bed was empty. The blankets were strewn on the ground next to the bed and the pillows were in odd places. Just looking at it made Dipper think that Will wasn't here for quite a while. 

In the corner, with her body shrunken down to a ball for warmth, Will's dog snored peacefully.

Dipper began to panic. One person out of the house in anger was enough, but two was something he couldn't handle. Especially if those same people were avoiding him because of the actions that he did. The guilt between him and Damon were already manifesting in his stomach enough, he didn't need a goddamned other reason!

Swiftly and quietly, Dipper placed the picture on William's bedside, leaving their smiles up to stare at the ceiling. How one single day could go from modeling beside a giraffe to having the biggest fight with both his boyfriend and best friend, Dipper didn't know. 

He raced down the stairs as quietly as he could, padding down the hall and into the living room where he last saw William. He wanted to call out for Will as loud as he could, shouting at the top of his lungs for the other to stop being ridiculous and come out and talk to him, but doing that in itself was more than enough to wake up his whole neighborhood.  So he locked his jaw, tightly, and nearly broke his ankles looking for William in every inch of the house. 

He wasn't in the bathroom (clearly, as the stench of vomit was still there, unfortunately), the hallway was empty, the closet was collecting dusty, no one was in the kitchen, and absolutely nothing in the house told any clues of where the idiot would have gone. It all led him back to the living room, back to Point A. 

And he would've nearly given up, deciding that if William wanted alone time, then fine- but the door to the gift shop, which would've tipped the whole house off if someone from the outside were to get inside, was cracked open, just a bit.

His heart, which he didn't realize was racing a million miles a minute, was beginning to slow down. There was only one place in the gift shop someone would use as an escape from everyone else. If William truly were friends with Wendy, considering how close they've gotten with each other, there was no denying that she told him about it. 

Dipper looked up at the stairs, where his Grunkles were resting and probably snoring louder than a school bus, and then looked back at the gift shop. He frowned, his lips stretching downwards. Was it really worth it, though? There probably was a reason for Will to get up there without telling any of them. For example; absolute alone time that Dipper should probably respect. 

But he needed to talk to his friend, or else both of them were going to explode with guilt. Or sadness. Or anger. Or- whichever William was feeling right now.

Dipper's legs began moving on their own towards the door, with his mind still in the gutter. His frown only deepened the more he thought about facing his friend. He was so focused on Damon the moment he came in that Dipper didn't even bother checking in on what Will was thinking, or looking, or even felt. All he cared about was Damon and know he was here, about to check up on him as if he himself didn't just betray two people at once.

Yet his legs worked all on their own, and his mind didn't even bother to interfere. His head was blank, completely and utterly blank, as his legs dragged him out the door and towards the ladder, which was right there, waiting for him to enter. One foot after another, Dipper climbed each rung. Without a sound, as he had snuck off onto the roof millions of times.

Before he could whisper William's name again, to see the state his friend was in, a voice called out, strained and somehow infuriated. 

"I don't care what you did, you know."

Dipper paused, his head peeking over the opening to the roof. He had to crane his neck, almost painfully, to look at William and brace himself to see what kind of heartbreaking dramatic words the guy had in store for him.

Weirdly enough, Will wasn't looking at him. More like, at the sky. At the empty space around him with a faraway look in his eyes. Dipper opened his mouth to speak, to blurt out his stupid speech he mentally prepared himself for, before Will beat him to it.

"Yes, yes, _I know_. Do you take me for an idiot?" Will hissed. Dipper did a double take. "I don't care if you think you were trying to help, hell I appreciate the failed gesture, but what am I supposed to do now? What do you supposed I do in the morning when Dipper and Damon _both_ want me out of this house?"

An air of silence. Dipper held his breath. 

"Would you have stayed with Miss Northwest if you found out the guy she told you not to worry about was the same person she made out with in the middle of your own living room?" Will snapped. It nearly caught Dipper off guard.

Not a moment later, Will chuckled, almost as if in victory. The blanket around his shoulders tightened around him, but one glance at his white knuckles told Dipper that it wasn't just protection from the cold. "See?" he said softly. The defeat in his voice nearly put Dipper on edge. One thing he knew about Will was that he hated being wrong, and will push being right no matter what. Even if that meant faking the truth.

Dipper's brow furrowed as he inspected his friend, almost in concern. There was no one up here. No one but the shooting stars and the moon in the sky. 

"You told me to try and I did, Mabel. _I did._ So many times," Will said, voice leveled. But it rose, with each word. "You're more stubborn than I am, and frankly, that's the worst trait anyone could have. You think I wanted that to happen? You think _Dipper_ wanted that to happen? I know you want what's best for the both of us, but you haven't seen him in _years,_ Mabel! Why can you decide whether or not he's happy?"

Dipper's jaw ached badly. He wanted to speak, to make his presence known, but clearly it wasn't needed. Not yet. And...who the hell was Mabel?

"He's not happy," Will laughed, his words almost mocking. "Of course he isn't happy. I told you what happened. He kissed me." His words faded, as if he was far away into another world as he spoke. "I kissed him back. _We kissed._ And he walked away like I was..." Will whispered.

Then his face hardened into stone, delicate eyes flashing with anger. Dipper could've sworn each spiderweb crack in his eyes were glowing red, just for a brief moment, but the effect was gone the moment Will had blinked, like he was trying to hold back stressed tears. 

"Oho, _I'm_ being the dramatic one?" Will laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry, try being in my situation. I'm more than certain you're going to start crying the first day. And I told you, over and over, that _it's never going to work anymore_ , Mabel."

His head suddenly snapped up at the sky, brow furrowed. A small frown played on his lips. "Of course I'm worried about him. I could...feel his stress from here, actually," he admitted. A pause, then- "No. I can't." His voice crackled.

His furrowed brow deepened. His frown curled in slight disgust. "And what then? Tell him I'm _sorry?_  Mabel, I don't care if they replace my heart with the nicest man on this hick dimension, I'm not a martyr. I can't even say sorry without feeling even a little bit disgusted with myself. And you want me to _talk_ to him? Mabel, that's the funniest joke you've said yet!" To punctuate his sarcastic tone, Will slapped his knee, forcing out a guffaw. 

It faded away, letting the silence to draw on before he spoke again, as if he was waiting for someone to speak first. And the anger, which Dipper was positive was directed to him, was given more coals. His eyes narrowed, the knuckles now resting on each side of his crossed knees turning white. "You told me you trusted me but you still keep trying to push him and I together!" he roared, causing Dipper to cringe back. The force behind his words nearly forced poor Dipper back into the Shack, but he knew better. And his natural curiosity was always known for being stronger than his fears.

"Pushing him down to force us close is okay, Mabel. _I get it,_ " he gritted out. "But telling me, that everything is going to work out fine and he'd even let me _breathe_ in the direction of this house, is not! There are things I tolerate in this world, Shooting Star, but do you think I'm the kind of guy who'd stay in a house of people who hate him? Now, that's all kinds of wrong, even for my stupid standards!"

A pause. An extremely short one, right before Will began to bellow again. Yet Dipper stayed put. "Nothing you say or do can convince me in this situation now, Shooting Star," he said dryly. He shifted his weight, almost as if he was going to stand. "I'm going to pack my things. California this time, probably."

Dipper's heart thumped madly in his chest.

Another pause. Will spoke again. His words sounded dry and defeated, though he tried to cover it up with murmurs. It didn't work, and Dipper heard him loud and clear. "I'll leave in an hour, I'll be gone before Dipper could even-"

"NO!" he blurted out, half his body wiggling out of the entrance.

Will's eyes snapped wide, and he turned to look at him. Surprise was an understatement in William's case.

"No," Dipper said again, finality in his voice. He looked at Will, incredulous. He didn't make a move to come in closer. "Please don't leave the Shack. Don't leave because of that." He didn't care if he sounded like a five year old. He just didn't want his friend to leave.

"Were you...looking for me?" Will asked, hesitance coating his words.

"Yeah," he breathed, shaking his head slightly to each side. "William, don't you dare think about leaving the Shack, I'll murder you if I have to."

He expected the guy to chuckle at his hollow threat. He expected William to do anything other than stare at him, almost blankly. Like he didn't knew who Dipper was.

"How long were you up here?" he asked, a demand to his tone.

"Enough to hear most of your conversation. Or at least half of it. Or...something," Dipper admitted shyly. It was odd, talking to a person with his body only halfway through an entrance while Will stood there wrapped in a blanket. "I'm sorry, I could leave right now if you want, but I want to make sure you-"

"I'm fine," Will said quickly. "It's...you I'm more worried about though." His brows knitted together. "You _are_ okay...right?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Dipper assured him. "What made you think...?" This was probably the most awkward conversation they ever had.

Will blinked at his question, almost seeming taken aback. "That- that was just me and my stupid brain, I guess," he admitted. "It was just- I could've sworn you were having a heart attack so I...I'm sorry- if you really did, I could've..."

The way Will looked worried about him made Dipper's stomach warm just a little, to the point that he didn't ask how Will could ever get that crazy idea. "No, it's fine, William. Really."

An air of silence. This time, at least Will knew he was there. In fact, Will seemed more awkward than he ever had. Hell, he seemed more at ease with talking to the air than having a glance-then-look-away contest with Dipper. He kept wringing the blanket draped around his shoulders, and Dipper kept scratching at his face. 

Eventually, Will was the one to speak up. "Do you want to sit with me? It's totally fine if you don't, I mean I wouldn't be mad enough to gouge your eyes out-"

"I don't want to bother your...whatever what you were doing up here, so I mean..." Dipper trailed off. This was more awkward than his and Damon's first date.

At the mention of that, Will looked off to the side, to where he was originally looking at, then looked back to Dipper. He shook his head. "No, that was already settled with the moment you came back here. Uh..."

Sparing Will for more awkward small talk, Dipper reluctantly released the other half of his body, walking over to where Will sat. He sat down, a good few inches between them to ensure no more body touching ever happened again. He was sure Will would appreciate the act.

But William frowned, looking sideways at him. Before Dipper could even ask him what was wrong, Will shrugged out of his half of the blanket and draped it over Dipper's shoulders, drawing them nearer together. On instinct, Dipper's hand curled at the inside of the fabric and pulled it closer to his body.

"You were shivering," Will said, answering Dipper's unspoken question. 

"Oh," he said in surprise. Honestly, it wasn't that cold out. He's had worst days, especially a notable one where he wore a shirt during a snow storm. This was nothing to him, so why did Will think he was shivering?

He touched his other arm gently. He felt the skin chill at his touch, sending goosebumps all the way down to his shoulder. And it was vibrating. He was shivering, and harder than an old lady could in the middle of a blizzard. 

"You're _still_ shivering," Will observed, side-eyeing Dipper in a way that made the brunet shiver even more. 

"Probably the cold weather. I mean, we were fighting with water lately, it could just be a flu coming-" Dipper explained, trying his best to convince himself as well. If the latter was true, he would've known by now.

"I'm pretty sure a flu won't stop Dipper Pines from preventing shivers," Will chuckled lightly. He shifted, coming closer to Dipper's side now. He didn't touch Dipper in any way however, even with their knees or shoulders. It was like Will was avoiding him like the Black Death.

"Maybe it would," Dipper shot back. 

"Then what would make you shiver, oh great one?"

"Keeping in all my secrets of the war, of course. I'm a strong man."

"Would it kill you to just admit you're cold?" Will asked in exasperation. 

Chuckling the same way Will had done, Dipper laid his head on Will's shoulder, scooting closer to the point that their knees pressed close against each other. Will tensed at his action, and continued to be tense. On the other hand, Dipper's mind buzzed with white fuzzy feelings. If he thought about doing this one simple act a few minutes ago, he would've thought he'd grow pink cheeks and run away like Will was infected. But instead, something in his mind, some part of him he was sure never emerged unless he was with William, told him to calm the hell down, and relax. 

So he did.

"Fine," Dipper said, sighing dramatically as if he was going to admit a dark secret. "I'm cold."

"There you go, you big baby," Will teased. His posture relaxed as the seconds went by, even as going as far as to rest a hand over Dipper's knee. As if doing so would calm him down. One deep breath, and one out. One in, then out. In, out.

Somewhere along the lines, their breathing synced up.

Crickets played their rickety tunes, wolves howled for their packs, owls hooted their warnings, stars twinkled down at them like they had secrets to tell for eons, the moon glowed bright, and the forest felt alive. All the while, Dipper Pines truly felt at home for the first time in years. 

Perhaps it was the familiar constellations above his head, sparking his kid-like excitement for them all over again. Or perhaps it was the forest, which always held another mystery for him to solve. But maybe it was just the man beside him, who didn't speak or didn't force Dipper to speak himself. Silence used to be a sign of pain between his family, whether that was his Grunkles giving each other silent treatments over nasty fights they'd soon make up after a day or two, or when Damon gave them to _him_ for their stupid fights. Yet staying here with William, in complete silence, was like chatting merrily with friends, without the chatting part. The thrill and warmness around a friend was there, but the talk was not.

"It's amazing up here, isn't it?" Will said softly. He sighed through his nose, the release of air tickling the top of Dipper's head. "Sometimes I just need a reality check and realize that I'm not bound to Gravity Falls any-" Will caught his words, voice crackling like an old radio about to die. That was the first time Dipper heard him express more emotions other than spite and amusement.

"You could leave the Shack. No one is forcing you to stay," Dipper told him, his tone sounding almost robotic. Soon, those same words would be spoken in animosity, by the same man who wanted Will gone more than any of them. "After this, I wouldn't put it against you. Drama used to be nonexistent here. But ever since you came and- I mean..."

"If you're saying I was the cause of drama in this small town, I don't blame ya," Will chuckled. "I've been causing nothing but trouble and chaos in this town the moment I targeted it. But I think I've caused more than my fair share of mayhem in your life, huh?"

"I'm sorry," Dipper whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Will paused at his words, almost taken aback by Dipper's course of action. Dipper didn't blame him either. He probably thought Dipper would yell at him, scream and scream some more until he was driven out of the house by Dipper's anger. And before what happened, he probably would've done exactly that. "He's your boyfriend," Will finally said. Hesitantly. " You think he's your soulmate. I really can't take that away from you, Dipper."

Dipper shook his head. "That's not what I mean." _I'm sorry I made you go through this._

"And then I'm sorry too," Will whispered. "I should've never led you on like that, P- Dipper. You had a boyfriend and someone who loved you as much as you loved them. I was being selfish and it cost me you."

"But you never lost me," Dipper told him. "Never ever. You can't force someone to love you, I know that enough. I should have known that you can't force someone _out_ of love was the same thing."

"Meaning I can't force you to stop loving Damon." He laughed, just a little, to lighten the mood. He propped his head on top of Dipper's, and the weight on top of Dipper's head felt so familiar that it took him a while to comprehend William's next words. "I even heard he brought you to see his brother's grave, even when thinking about his own sibling made him insane."

The way he said those words suggested something else, something a little beyond his forlorn thoughts, but Dipper didn't ponder too much on it. "Yeah," he ended up saying, his words soft. "He thought bringing me there would strengthen our relationship with trust and all. It...did, I guess. I wish I had something to tell him that was as hard as telling me about his brother, but I don't."

Will shifted. He cleared his throat. "So that's it? All he did was bring you to his brother's grave for your guys' anniversary?" There was some distaste in his words. 

"He brought me somewhere too," Dipper said, catching the revulsion in Will's tone much too late. "And um...a necklace. It was expensive as shit, I can tell you that."

"He...got you a necklace?"

"It doesn't sound fashionable, does it?" Dipper laughed. "I treasure the jewelry more than my Grunkle Stan could ever appreciate his weird collection of stolen golden chains. I don't wear it much because I lose things faster than I could lose Chip for a bath, but I wear it for good luck."

"What would you need good luck for?" Will asked him, genuine confusion in his words. "As far as I could tell, you're the luckiest man alive. Decent family, fans fawning over your works, a steady job, and a steady relationship."

"But 'steady' isn't good enough," Dipper sighed. He blinked back at the stars winking at him. They seemed to shine brighter today. "There are some days I just want to run away to the farthest island, you know? No one nagging me, no one telling me what to do- it's like being a rebellious teenager all over again, but I'm rebelling against adult stuff." He laughed a little.

Will didn't laugh with him. Instead, he shifted again. A moment later and Dipper's wrist was taken in a vise-like grip, and it was forced out of hiding from the blanket. Will's head lifted from on top of Dipper's. He didn't even have time to yelp as his whole arm was aggressively yanked away.

"What happened to your forearm?" Will demanded. His eyes narrowed.

Dipper looked down at his own arm, hesitantly so. A large bruise presented itself near his elbow, blossoming blue and purple and even black. Right. When Damon pushed him down. "I tripped. On the stairs," he lied, gently tugging his arm away from Will. But William kept it in place as he stared down at it, almost in guilt.

"You're such a clumsy brunet, you know that?" Will sighed. He didn't catch the hesitance in Dipper's voice when he first lied, too caught up in Dipper's bruise for the stupid explanation. 

"And blonds are supposed to be stupid," Dipper blurted out. He didn't know where it came from. Possibly from being defensive over his own injury.

"True," Will hummed. His other hand came out of hiding from the blanket, to trail right down Dipper's wrist. It sent tingles down his spine and made his stomach curl inwards. "We're both stupid and klutzes. It's why we need a way to take care of ourselves."

"First aid kits?" Dipper guessed. He wouldn't be surprised if Will pulled out a first aid kit at this moment.

But he certainly was surprised when blue smoke rose from his own arm as Will pressed three fingers hard on Dipper's bruise, shooting numb pain through Dipper's shoulder. He didn't pull away though. Something told him not to.

Just like the tight pains in his chest, the pain in his elbow and shoulder disappeared into a warm jelly feeling, until that feeling disappeared as well. Will pulled away from him, hiding his own hands into the fleecy blanket with a small smirk of victory on his face. 

Dipper looked back at his arm, to the same spot where the skin should be a mash of different ugly colors and bumps. But nothing was there but smooth unaltered skin.

He looked up at Will. "You healed me." It wasn't a question.

"I told you I wasn't lying when I said I was a magician, Dipper," Will reminded him. He opened his palm, showing his hand just out of the comfort of his blanket, and a puff of blue fire briefly came out, before being ultimately extinguished. 

A normal person would be beyond confused and surprised at that statement, especially after seeing the proof. But not when you lived in Gravity Falls, Oregon. Or when you were Dipper Pines. All of this would be considered mediocre.

"How'd you get magic?" Dipper asked him in pure curiosity. Was Will a descendant of a wizard, or an elf, or even a mage? That could certainly explain Will's tendency to forget that he was living in the 21st Century. Not even a person from Germany could be this confused about an iPhone. Or could they?

"It's an uh...family heritage thing," Will explained. He looked back up at the stars. A shooting star streaked past, like a rocket, through the atmosphere. He grimaced. "I used to have more of this stuff to the point that I could rule the world if I wanted to. Things happened and I'm pretty much serving a human life sentence here."

"How long?"

"Until the summer."

"Then you'll be free?" Dipper asked.

Will smiled wistfully at the sky. "You could say that."

Another meteor streaked past. Dipper put his head back on Will's shoulder. Will put his head back on top of Dipper's. Again, a silence fell over them. Being so near to William somehow made Dipper feel- big, in a way. Like he could touch one of the shooting stars if he wanted to as long William was there to bring him.

"Could you teach me, then?" Dipper found himself asking.

"What for?" Will asked him. "A mortal like you won't be interested in learning magic that would take years unless it was something in for them."

"Oh, um..." Dipper trailed off, shifting his weight. He brought the blanket closer to his side, almost subconsciously. "For self defense, I guess."

Will shifted again. Before he could question Dipper, Dipper blurted out another answer. "And for fun. I mean, you could repay me that way for taking you around Gravity Falls soon. Magic look interesting."

"Well, that's a fair deal," Will agreed. "I'll try to help the best I can. But I can't guarantee you'll be able to do it. No one outside my er, family has ever tried it." He snuggled closer to Dipper, as subtly as he could. "Maybe you could be the first. Besides, my first student has to be successful, am I right?" Will teased.

"Can you teach me some magic other than healing?" Dipper asked him excitedly. "I mean, healing is cool, but you know."

"Dipper, healing is my _weakest_ attribute when it comes to magic." Dipper could almost feel him grinning. "I never had the reason to heal anyway. I could so much more than stitching up puny open wounds and heal bruises."

"Oh yeah?" Dipper challenged. He lifted his head, forcing Will to do the same. He looked straight into his cobalt blue eyes, trying his hardest not to seem as if he was inspecting every crack and detail. "Impress me. I dare you."

Truly grinning, Will brought his hand up, and twirled it. A thin line of blue, and a red camellia flower appeared right in between his forefinger and thumb. 

In awe, Dipper's eyes widened and he reached out for it, expected Will to give it to him as a departing present for the night. But Will pulled it away, and wagged his other hand in an "Ah ah" way. Dipper pouted, and Will began to laugh. Genuinely.

The flower didn't disappear, despite Will's teasing smile. Instead, Will let go of it, and it floated smoothly away from them, to float just a couple inches away, dancing and flying beyond their reach.

Then Will summoned a purple hyacinth, the same camellia but only a lighter hue of pink. He summoned a withered flower next in which he wrinkled his nose at and Dipper laughed at. Then an asphodel, a red tulip, and finally, a single blood red rose, the petals bloomed to perfection. It reminded Dipper of the blue one in his room.

The flowers danced all around them in a blue glow, Dipper laughing as it circled his head.

" _Flowers?_ Really, Will? You try and woo me with _flowers_?" Dipper laughed. 

"Well, that's what you meat- Americans like, hmm? I haven't left the house without seeing a single man giving a flower to their girlfriend, or sibling, or mother," Will grinned.   

One snap of the fingers and all the flowers suddenly disappeared. Dipper became a little disappointed at the disappearance of the colorful addition to the stark sky, until he realized that one stayed, floating in the air as if waiting for someone to pluck it. The red rose, its stem cut short to fit behind a bridesmaid's ear.

And William eventually did, taking it out of the air before him like he's done it millions of times before. He looked at it, inspecting every petal and side to make sure it was perfect, before he turned to look at Dipper. Dipper didn't know why his heart stopped for a second, before it came back from the dead. Maybe the chest pains were back. Maybe he needed to take extra medicine in the morning. 

His problems suddenly vanished the moment Will leaned over to him, tucking the rose behind his ear like it was nothing. Dipper hesitantly lifted a hand, touching one of the smooth petals curiously. He looked back at Will. His face must've looked sad, or disappointed, because Will looked away, almost as if in shame.

"It...I just thought it looked good on you," Will answered hoarsely. But nonetheless, Dipper kept the flower there. He didn't know why.

A tense silence came over them, and right before anyone could talk, Dipper and Will look up to the sky, at the same time. A shooting star came by, as if it wanted to join the little party on the roof. It was slow to come by, very slow by Dipper's expectations, but it passed nonetheless. All the while, Will kept his eyes closed, as if he was meditating. Or thinking hard.

He opened his eyes by the time the second falling star went by. He pointed at it, warily, and said, "Make a wish."

Dipper only snorted. "I don't like making wishes to superstitions," he shrugged. "I think it's a waste of time, if you ask me."

"That's not true," Will argued. "It worked for me when I wished on it. Almost instantly too!"

Dipper glanced at him in disbelief. "What the hell could you wish for that would make it come true that it appeared instantly?" he asked, skeptical. "Did you wish to breathe?"

"Close," Will smiled. He glanced back at Dipper. Then back at the meteor shower. "I wished for you," he admitted softly.

"How can you be this cheesy?" Dipper asked in disbelief. 

"I just am," Will answered proudly. He grinned in satisfaction at Dipper. "So, make a wish, Dipper! Anything is good enough. For me?" he begged, eyes wide with anticipation.

"The things I do for you," Dipper grumbled, shaking his head. Will's grin widened. Shaking off the warm feeling in his chest, Dipper closed his eyes, tilting his head to the chilly air. It took quite a while to think of one, but he did it anyway. A simple one, yet he knew the world wouldn't grant it to him anytime soon.

When he opened his eyes, Will was staring at him, almost excitedly. "Well? What'd you wish for?" he asked. 

"If I tell you, it won't come true, dummy," Dipper teased.

Will only chucked, leaning away from him. "Well, I don't have that problem," he said proudly. "Mine already came true, and probably more."

"I'm really doubting anyone could ever fall for your pickup lines right now, William."

"It works! Especially with the angel one!" Will argued.

"Will, you're such a nerd," Dipper laughed.

"True. But you're the Nerd Overlord. I'm the Lord of Hotness and Sass."

"Replace 'I'm' with 'Dipper is', and you got everything correct," Dipper teased. Before Will could whine again, he elbowed Will in the ribs. His happy grin slowly faded away into a modest smile. "And hey, I need to ask. There's...gonna be nothing between us now, right? No hiding?"

Will's grin dimmed. "Whatever floats your boat, Dipper," Will told him. "I mean, now you know I like you. Are you sure you'll be okay with that kind of knowledge? I mean it's not everyday you find out the guy you're sharing a house with has a crush on you."

"Trust me, it'll change nothing between us," Dipper assured him. He hoped it was true.

William grew quiet. He seemed to be contemplating something to say, to get something out before Dipper left. But it was gone the moment his eyes spotted something below, and his mouth clamped shut.

A dark figure emerged from the side of the Shack, to where the heart of the town was.

"You should go back to your room and sleep," Will said distastefully, even though he tried to keep it out of his tone. Dipper squinted at the figure, recognizing it as his boyfriend, probably done with his little outburst of punching trees and screaming for the night.  

He peeled the blanket off of himself, eyes still on the figure below. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. He stood up, brow now furrowed. Carefully, he plucked the flower out of his hair and let it fall to the roof tiles. William watched it fall. "I didn't realize we were out here for so long."

"I didn't either," Will admitted. He watched Dipper crawl down to the entrance, his foot already on the first rung. His eyes kept flickering back to Damon in the distance. "Dream of me when you sleep, okay?" he teased.

Dipper ignored his last sentence. "Are you gonna stay up here?" he asked, brow furrowing deeper in concern. "The bugs get pretty nasty out here the longer you stay." He knew perfectly well what the bugs of Gravity Falls were capable of.

"Nice to see you worrying about me, Pines," Will drawled. He glanced at Dipper, if not briefly, bringing up his blanket tightly around him after Dipper abandoned his side. "But I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I don't think-"

"I'll be fine," Will repeated. When he glanced at Dipper again, his facial features softening while he looked at Dipper's worried face. He seemed to pause for a moment, reeling over his words. "I'll...see you in the morning, I guess. I better see your world famous blueberry pancakes on the table when I get up as an apology, hmm?"

Dipper lit up at his words. He stepped down another step, until his head was the only thing poking up from the ladder. "I wouldn't call them world famous, but whatever suits you, William," Dipper smiled. "I'll make sure to double the stack this time too." 

He wouldn't admit out loud how relieved he was at hearing that Will was going to stay.

He walked back to his room, reeling over his little talk with William. It wasn't a secret on how well it turned out. He expected screaming, shouting, physical fights between them until one of them were conked out. Yet Will was patient with him, as if he understood every word. In turn, Dipper was nothing but a jackass to him when he left him all alone in that living room. He made sure, double-checked in his head, to buy a ton more pancake batter for Will to wake up to.

When he flicked open the lights to his room, Damon was there, head in his hands at the edge of the bed with a bouquet of fresh red roses by his side. When he saw Dipper, he began to sputter, apologizing over and over again and saying how idiotic he was.

Dipper forgave him with a small smile and a wave of a hand, placing the bouquet of roses Damon basically thrust on him to his bedside. The best part about their fights were the aftermath, Dipper found. They'd always be a tangle in bed, entangled in each other's arms as they kissed every part of their bodies until it was three in the morning. 

When Damon bid him goodnight and turned around to sleep, Dipper laid in bed, waiting for his snores to flatten out and his arm to loosen around his torso.

Then he got up, powered up his laptop, and looked up every single flower Will made appear. He had a good memory, a teacher and an author had to, and mindless curiosity was always a problem with him. It took a while for his old laptop to boot up, yet everything was all worth it. Honestly, he wasn't expecting much. 

Red camellia- _You are the flame in my heart._ The first one William made appear.

Purple hyacinth- _I'm so sorry._ In more ways than one, Dipper would've added.

Pink camellia- _I long for you._

Withered flower- _You rejected my love._ So that wasn't an accident.

Asphodel- _My regrets follow you to the grave._

Red tulip- _I declare my love for you._

He wished he'd do the same for Will.

Dipper pursed his lips. He was done with looking them up. He closed up his laptop and took a good look at the bouquet of roses on his bed. Damon's roses were closed up, smooth to the touch. But Will's single rose was full bloomed. The closed roses stared up at him almost pityingly.

Shaking his head, Dipper turned off his lamp and snuggled back into bed. As soon as he did, Damon's arm came around him, almost protectively. "You seem distracted," he said sleepily.

Dipper swallowed the lump in his throat, coming closer to his boyfriend. "I know," he said simply. A silence fell over them. It wasn't as different as the silence with Will, but somehow this one felt more...damp.

"Hey, Dipper?"

"Hmm?"

"You weren't kidding right?" Damon asked him in the darkness. There was a pause. "That you'd always choose me over him?" 

Dipper didn't answer right away. Two parts of his minds seemed to scream at him, telling him to not answer and just go to sleep, while the other told him to speak his mind. Even if it would hurt one of them.

"Of course," he said softly. "William means nothing to me, Damon. I told you that."

William wasn't here. So he wasn't hurting him this way, right?

Another petal fell from the blue rose. It slouched against its vase, almost mournfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having a friend who works in a flower shop has prepared me for thee. 10+ flowers and Beauty and the Beast feels in this chapter and I regret nothing. Nor do I regret our Pine Tree's decisions because obviously he knows what he's doing :D. Right, Dipper :D? Jeez, this fic is going down to angst hell, holy carp fish. Next chapter will be lighter, I promise. We see the twins and JJ in the same room, after all (hilarity ensues).
> 
> Don't worry, this fic was never abandoned, just my stupid messy life and stupid perception of time. I'll update every Sunday for now on, with some surprise updates here and there if things get better :3. My laptop is now fixed and I'm back in business, baby :D.


	17. An American Boy and an Apple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Stumbles through door* I'm on tiME *shoves last week's and last last week's update under the rug*. IT'S SUNDAY, I JUST MISSED LAST SUNDAY AND THE SUNDAY BEFORE THAT HAHA- I'M AWESOME. But hey, I found all my notes to this story! (It was under my bed the whole time uh-). It's like, 90% Pain™ and 10% actual fluff. But thERE IS FLUFF AND ACTUAL BILLDIP SOON, DO NOT WORRY WITH YOUR LITTLE HEADS.
> 
> Anyway, here's a lighter chapter! William and Ford bonding over their exasperation with Dip Dop, and daycare shenanigans. Throwback to the Legacy of a Broken Heart with that title, amirite? Thanks to my irl friend, Abby, for the German coaching, and my French teacher for, well, the two short sentences of French I winged in here XD.

_"Hello there, the angel from my nightmare_  
_The shadow in the background of the morgue_  
_The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley_  
_We can live like Jack and Sally if we want_  
_Where you can always find me_  
_We'll have Halloween on Christmas_  
_And in the night we'll wish this never ends_  
_We'll wish this never ends."_

**[I Miss You | blink-182](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1tAYmMjLdY) **

* * *

William shifted his weight from foot to foot, his shoulder leaning against the uncovered vending machine as he stared into the void of Stanford Pines's basement.

The whole Mystery Shack was closed, to the mutual agreement of Wendy and Damon, who both thought that taking the weekday off would help them both greatly. Wendy wanted it off to hang out with her family at some cottage in Canada, while Damon- well...Damon had his obvious reasons.

With no one walking around the Shack or the cash register going off every five seconds to collect those wasted green paper, Will felt weirdly alone. 

No matter. He held his chin up high. He always felt alone anyway. You know, with Dipper and...all...

There was an audible clack of metal banging against metal, followed by a series of coughs that could only belong to the longest resident and researcher of Gravity Falls. "Com-!" He coughed yet again, sounding as if he was hacking up a lung. Will repressed the urge to cringe. "Coming! _Coming!_ Just need to, ah...damn!" Ford cursed.  

Before Will could say anything (As if he'd offer his help anyway), Ford stumbled up the stairs, clearing up the smoke in front of eyes that were starting to climb up the steps with him. He had his nose buried in the crook of his elbow, using it as a protective mask while he simply kept his eyes squeezed shut. His glasses were gray with dust.

"Damn shaky fingers. I have twelve of 'em and yet they fail me when I try to experiment with chloroform and unicorn hair!" Ford bellowed, heaving a loud cough before he stopped directly in front of Will. 

Will had to tilt his chin to look up at the behemoth of a man, but he didn't let the fact that he was shorter than his old friend bother him. He had worst things on his mind to be bothered with. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, almost protectively.

He waited patiently for Ford to stop grumbling about his failed experiment under his breath, watching as the old man wipe off his glasses and uselessly pat down his gray turtleneck sweater. "I swear I'll chop off my own arms and replace them with this century's technology, these old stumps are _useless..._ " Ford mumbled.

He fumbled with his glasses, placing them back onto his eyes crookedly, before he blinked and tried to set them straight. His eyes peered right into Will's face. Or, more accurately- his hat. 

"Oh, Dipper. It's good to see you," Ford said dismissively. "My equipment isn't quite ready for you yet, but we can make do. There's some electrodes I want to-" He paused, eyes widening when he realized that he was indeed not talking to his grandnephew. "Wait. You're not Dipper."

"Uh. No," Will said. He tried his best not to reach up and adjust Dipper's old hat subconsciously. "I'm...William."

"Yes, yes, I could see that," Ford said dismissively. He adjusted his glasses again, blinking a few times like the dust was making his eyes water. "I'm sorry to mistake you for someone else, William. I just haven't- seen that hat in quite a while on anyone else other than my grandnephew. Of course, with the exception of Miss Corduroy."

Will couldn't help but frown at that. "What was Wendy doing with Dipper's hat?" He tried to keep the demand out of his tone, he really did.

"Beats me." Ford shrugged, dusting his shoulder. "They're very good friends, if you haven't caught on yet. Wendy wore that hat for quite a while too- heck I heard once that hat got stolen and her whole group of friends beat up the burglar, but that's not the point. It was until Dipper came back the very next summer and Dipper had practically begged for it back. He kept her hat though."

"Interesting," Will said distastefully.

"Anyway," Ford began, completely oblivious to Will's gloomy mood, "Since you found the code to the vending machine, I should invite you in, eh? Come on, I'll show you my newest inventions. You never know, I might find something suitable for you!"

Will followed Ford down the stairs of the basement, just right after the Pines man had pivoted and made a "come on" motion with his hand. "And hey, how _did_ you find the code?" he questioned curiously, just as they began stepping down those stairs.

"Your brother told me," Will lied. "He said you might need some help. You don't mind, do you?" he asked in his best, most innocent tone he could muster.

"No, no! Not at all, William. I'm happy for the help, in fact. I was just setting up some equipment," Ford assured him.

"What for?" Will asked. "If you don't mind me asking questions," he added quickly.

"Questions are needed for survival. Without it, the whole human race would've died," Ford lectured. Will tried not to cringe at the same exact quote he had told this man years ago, when they were considered friends. "So no, I don't mind it. The equipment is for the project you helped me work on. Remember that?"

"As clear as a light bulb, Fords-" He coughed into a hand, waving another hand in front of his face as if he was blaming it on the dust in the air. "-Ford. Monster tracker thingy. For- monsters."

"Since I don't have an official name for it either, I'm letting that slide," Ford hummed. He made a sound of annoyance under his breath when he nearly twisted his ankle coming down the last steps to the basement. "If you find green stuff on the ground, don't step on it. Don't touch it either. Don't do anything with it," he warned.

"Gotcha." Will looked around Ford's work space, just right after he made the same mistake Ford had and nearly fell into a broken hole in the floor. "Quite the basements you Americans have," Will whistled, resting his arms on his knees.

"Not every basement is like this, I promise you that, William," Ford chuckled, striding over to a work table that was clearly in use. He flipped a switch that was directly underneath a beaker, causing the container to start bubbling up like a hardcore cooking stove. He rubbed his chin in thought, one eyebrow arched as he inspected his failed work.

"So, uh...what exactly do I do now?" Will called out. His voice carried through the creepy walls of the Shack's basement.

It looked a whole lot different than a couple years ago. The portal was completely dismantled, replaced by what seemed like a living room. Couches, a TV, coffee table- it looked like a normal room for a normal basement. The only thing that made it stand out was the junk all around- car parts, green splotches on the wall, maps, hell even a werewolf's dead carcass. The blood was staining the floor underneath its limp body.

"You tell me, William!" Ford called back. "You're the one who wanted to come here and help out. I don't know why you'd rather do this than hang out with people your age upstairs, but hey, I won't press it. As long as you don't touch anything without my permission, you're free to do whatever you want down here."

"That means I practically can't do anything," Will grumbled. He straightened his back. His eyes flickered all around the basement, searching for anything to occupy himself with. True, he had no idea what he was doing down here in the first place. Ford had everything in control when it came to his experiment, so clearly he didn't need any help. But there was only one option to get away from watching Damon and Dipper make out and profess their love for each other upstairs and through the phone, and it was coming here. He sighed through his nose.

What to do, what to do...

"You know, while you busy yourself with looking for something to do, you could always ask me about random things," Ford reminded him. The man adjusted a knob on one of his complicated looking devices slightly to the right.

"Well. Then...tell me about yourself?" Will asked him. It came out hesitantly. After all, he spent a long time with the guy when he was younger, so he knew everything he needed to know. Including the fact that the guy used to admire him, and now he loathed him with all his heart. No person had to look into a guy's mindscape to see if they hated someone.

"I was born with a strange anomaly," Ford began.

"You mean your six fingers?" Will guessed. That one was obvious.

"No, I actually mean Stanley." Ford made a face. "Sometimes I wonder if one of us were adopted. It's impossible to think of us to possibly be related." 

Like Mabel and Dipper, Bill almost reminded him. Yet those two were a hundred percent related, and a hundred percent loved each other unconditionally.

Instead, he offered, "Tell me something else then." _Anything else that included Dipper,_ Will nearly blurted.

"Other than the obvious, sure. My middle name is Filbrick, which was my father's name. I was born in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, and..." Will tuned him out. His eyes searched the basement restlessly. 

He came face to face with a portrait of a triangle with a single eye.

"Hey, Ford?" Will called out, eyes still trained on his superior form.

"Yes, William?" Ford had to cut out his life's story to answer.

"What's that...triangle on your wall?" Will asked hesitantly. What the hell was he doing up on the one person who hated him more than anything?

Suddenly, the tension in the room cranked up to one hundred.

Will thought Ford hadn't heard him, with the guy getting older and all, and was about to repeat the question before Ford answered, the distaste and hate in his words so clear that Will nearly snapped back at him and repeated their many arguments in the past.

"Bill Cipher," Ford growled. He hammered a beaker heavily on his table, rattling it like a father's final decision on the matter of their daughter's date. "He ruined my family's life because of his selfish reasons. He nearly ruined the _world,_ all because he thought he was so great and grand."

"Then why have his portrait on the wall?" Will asked him. He would be lying if he wasn't disgusted by Ford's decision to having the demon's picture here. Bill Cipher was gone and the sight of his former alter ego was just-

"It reminds me of why I should keep working," Ford answered simply. The fire in his eyes seemed to disappear right at that moment, and all Will saw was a frightened man worried for his family's safety. "Please don't tell Dipper I told you this, but..."

"You could trust me," he coaxed. He wasn't lying this time.

Ford sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "That monster tracker wasn't just to save us, William."

"Then what the hell is it for?"

"It's death and war out there."Ford looked at him warily. "And that includes revenge."

"That's...like a line from a Batman movie," Will pointed out.

Ford smiled at him. His age made his smile look exhausted, a look that didn't suit a man who frequently went on trips with his twin brother to dangerous extents. "I'm willing to bet two fingers that you've at least heard the name Bill Cipher in this town, hmm?"

"Yes," he admitted. "I tried uncovering more information on this stupid triangle guy but no one talks about him much. 'Never Mind All That' Law or something?"

"You're spot on, William," Ford told him. "No one is allowed to talk about Bill Cipher or Weirdmageddon as long as they are within Gravity Falls borders. But hey, I'm a Pines. I'm qualified to break the rules."

Will laughed. Stanford will never realize how true his statement was. "I didn't take you folks as rule breakers," Will mused.

"Are you kidding me? My brother is banned in nearly eighty percent of all the states!" Ford exclaimed. He slipped a vial out of his many tubes, examining the bubbly purple substance from above as he spoke. "I'm a multi-dimensional criminal- which would be a story I'd tell you on another day, William. My grandnephew specializes in the supernatural, and that is bound to cause problems. And my grandniece, well, she-"

He nearly dropped the vial.

Will stared at him, straining his muscles to force it to a stoic look. He's been here for weeks, spent time with literally everyone in this stupid family, worked at the Shack part-time, and not once, not even by a glance or a blink, did the Pines family mention the optimistic brunette who wore sweaters during every day of the year. It was like Dipper wasn't the only one who became brain-dead to the name. 

"Grand...niece?" Will began, eyebrow raised in an obvious sign of curiosity and ignorance. As if he didn't know more than his fair share to know exactly what got Ford so flustered.

"Grandniece," Ford confirmed. His voice suddenly sounded hoarse. His eyes were the reflection of exhaustion. "Dipper's...Dipper's twin sister."

"I didn't know he has a twin," Will commented, forcing every single cheeriness, every single surprise, into those seven words. Like he wasn't burning inside, like he wasn't about to shout at the man about everything he knew about Mabel Pines.

"Had, William. He _had_ a twin," Ford corrected. Gently, fingers shaking ever so slightly, he set the vial down on the table. For the longest of moments, with the air thicker than smog, Ford and Will didn't speak. None of them wanted to. It was until Ford cleared his throat, deciding that the silence had stretched far too long, did the tension start to thin.

"Her name was Mabel," Ford said, words as gentle and sweet as a parent would speak of their wonderful, bubbly child. "Brown hair, doe eyes, Pines curls- it wouldn't be too hard to tell that she was one of us. Not to mention quite the personality too!" He laughed, yet the sounds of it sounded as hollow as his eyes.

"I can picture her," Will admitted. He didn't have anything else to say. All he wanted was to have the conversation to go another way as quick as possible.

"Yeah? Well, you don't need to do it mentally, William," Ford said gruffly. He lifted a hand, beckoning Will to come closer to where he was. He didn't look at William as he did so, his other arm right under the large desk table to rummage through the items.

Hesitantly, Will cracked one of his knuckles, shifting his weight just a bit to the side until he straightened his back and came right over. His footfalls echoed through the empty basement, adding to the beat of the boiling liquid in all of Stanford's experiments. The man managed to put two things on the table in front of him during Will's wary stride toward him, his little strained smile the only indication of his reassurance.

One of the items was a leather-clad journal, of six fingers in gold and the number three. It looked about a hundred years old, like something that would come out of an archaeologist's chest. The other one, the one that made Will take a sharp breath, was a picture of Dipper and Mabel, at the age of twelve. Unlike the journal, it seemed recently handled. Fingerprints covered the sides of the portrait, and the marks of a thumb constantly running over the girl's face was evident.

"Sometimes I think that this is all a big joke, you know?" Ford chuckled. He ran his idle fingers over Mabel's face, softly and delicately, like pressing any harder would make the glass crack. The frame's stand broke off years ago it seemed, letting the picture to lay on the table like a dead man. 

"Stan and I are still standing here and she left us," Ford continued, his words continuously becoming quieter and quieter, until they became nothing but whispers. "Mabel was just eighteen when she died, actually. Coming onto nineteen the very next month. And God, wasn't that an ironic time to die?"

"Ironic?" Will questioned. He had to curl his fingers to keep them from reaching out to the picture. _This is all my fault,_ his mind seemed to chant. _Your fault, your fault, your fault..._

"She was scared of growing up, did I tell you that?" Ford shook his head, retracting his hand away from the picture like it was molten lava. "Turning thirteen was basically the default age to growing up. But the very next year, she was supposed to go to college, get married, rent an apartment- Bill frightened her into never growing up and that fucker did it again."

Oh.

_Oh._

"She seems- important to you," he said quietly. Any louder would make his voice shake. From anger, or fear, or sadness- damn it, he didn't know. 

"Of course she is," Ford said simply. "But she was more important to Dipper than I."

"Why?" he demanded. Ford glanced up at him. His fists were shaking. He blinked- once, twice. He wanted to take the idiot by the hair and slam him on the table _so bad_. "If that girl was so important to you, then why make it seem like she never even _existed_? Why refuse to talk about her like she was some demon you needed to get rid of? What ever happened to family first to you?" Each word was like acid to his tongue.

"You're acting like you knew her," Ford said.

"And what if I did?" he snapped.

"Then I'd say you were blessed to meet her." Ford blinked. "I know it seemed like I'm evil for trying to hide Mabel from everyone else, but it's the best thing I could do for my-"

"-family?" At this point, he knew he was seething. This thick-headed idiot was the only reason why his plans failed way back and now he had the audacity to do the same thing with _Mabel._ "What, because it hurts you like a little bitch to remember the only person who made Dipper _happy?_ Stanford, I didn't take you as a selfish little . Hell, your con man of a brother still had the respect to tell me _stories_ about her!" he screamed.

Ford's eyes tightened at the corners. "Stanley did...what?" he croaked. Before Will could answer, his eyes narrowed even more as he snapped, "I told him not to talk about her! If he was around, did he even think about what-?!"

"You are _not_ going to tell me that leaving a person as wonderful as Mabel Pines was the best thing you could do for yourself!" Will roared. He jabbed an accusing finger at the man, even as going as far as to take a step forward, as if he was going to sock the guy right in his butt chin. He would've done that, actually. He was more surprised his magic didn't start acting up. With how angry he was, something was _bound_ to explode.

"William!" Ford growled. He didn't sound too angry. Not yet.

"Honestly, you wonder why Dipper never talks to you properly or hang out with his family or seem happy, when the simple answer was that _you took it away_ from him! He told me you weren't selfish, Stanley told me you weren't either, but all I could see now is a fucking _prick_!" Will shouted.

"If you would just let me speak for-" Ford said tightly.

"Stanford Pines." Will laughed, louder and louder, until it became hysterical. He hadn't laughed like that since...it didn't matter. "Well, well, well- you live up to your name, don't cha? 'The Stony Meadow'. You think you're all that and you're oh-so-important. Well, news flash, old man! _You're not_! You're going to die alone and no one is going to remember you because you refused to remember _her_!" 

Stanford, instead of exploding at him and telling him to get out before he pulled out a dangerous weapon to turn him into dust, had grown quiet. His angered eyes were nothing but those same tired voids William constantly saw, at every time of the day. His jaw was clenched, brows knitted together as it always was when he was thinking. Or processing something.

"You remind me of someone, you know that?" Ford whispered. His eyes searched Will's- calculating and suspicious. Will's spine had gone cold, and he shut his mouth faster than a fly trap. He stood there, feeling naked and exposed, as Stanford Pines searched for every familiar body language, for every blink of the eye. 

"You must've met one of my extended family then," Will answered dryly.

"No, no." Ford shook his head, like he was trying to clear his thoughts. He adjusted his glasses, peering at Will like he was looking straight into the soul. "Someone I know. Someone I've befriended. Your laugh- it's- it's not quite like the others..."

A cold sweat dripped down Will's back. He had gone rigid, careful to not make another mistake, to not say something else that would seem all too familiar to the man he spent years trying to grow close. But he shouldn't worry, shouldn't he? That demon was dead. Bill Cipher wasn't him and it was never truly him in the first place. He was William, and he was not a demon. He was not, he was not, he was _not._

But he was. In everyone else's eyes. He will always be the one who caused so much pain and there was no changing that.

"God forbid..." Ford mumbled. His brows tightened closer together. "You're not...?"

"I'm William," he said, all too quickly. "Will- William Wolfram Westbrook. I had a sister, and a brother- I was the oldest and I - they didn't like me very much. Actually, no one really liked me- from where I'm from. I'm considered a servant, even though my uncle was- is pretty respected. I'm-" What the hell was wrong with him? At least he didn't say his name was William Williams- now _that_ would've been unbelievable.

Ford raised a hand, shushing Will. "As much as it's finally wonderful to hear your backstory and full name, William, I'm afraid that's not what I'm thinking right now." His glasses seemed to give off a sinister look, light reflecting off them in the most villainous way. 

 "Your voice...it reminds me so much of..." Ford murmured.

Will felt sickly pale. His skin was starting to grow sticky. Everything in his head was telling him to run, to run far and never return. Before he could do that though, Ford snapped his fingers, looking as if a light bulb lit up above his head.

"Aha! Your voice is kinda like Jeff the Gnome! A little more solemn, like you're an emo Jeff the Gnome, but the resemblance is still there. Nasty little buggers, those gnomes..." 

All tension in Will's bones suddenly seemed to disappear. "Oh," he said simply. He cleared his throat. "That- that doesn't exactly-"

"-excuse my actions?" Ford guessed. "Believe me, William, I don't exactly...stand with my own decisions. But if I want Dipper to be happy, I have to do it."

"What does this have to do with Dipper?" Will bit out.

"Ever wondered why he hasn't talked about a twin sister before?"

 _Of course I did. And I know why,_ he almost said. "Sure. Of course," he decided to say instead.

Ford seemed to reel over his words, trying to string them in his head like saying one word wrong would screw him over. He wet his lips, pursing them before he spoke. "He doesn't remember her," he said quietly.

 _No shit, Sherlock,_ Will gritted. "What happened? Hit his head?" Will asked him innocently.

"Hardly," Ford scoffed. He waved a six-fingered hand in dismissal. "Bill. That's- all I could say, really. Bill- Bill _seduced_ him like a fucking pedophile- thank goodness he was eighteen- and led Mabel to her unadulterated _death._ Dipper was a little more than crazy before...all that, I'd say- but he was affected more than Stan and I combined. Losing a twin was like losing your arms. You understand that, don't you?"

"Yeah," William mumbled. "Kinda did."

Ford either chose to ignore his words or he simply didn't hear them. He continued on. "The little three-sided, three-faced bastard probably did something to him to amplify his feelings. Wouldn't be the first he did them, anyway. Dipper went all crazy about bringing her back, and-" Ford's eyes filled with pain, "-nearly killed my brother- in the process of it all. Then he tried to...God, it's been so long...." He shook his head.

"He tried to hang himself," Ford finally got out. His words were hoarse- bitter and stale, like he tried not saying them in first place. "My God, he probably would've died if it wasn't for Damon. The guy saved him right on time, while I...I was just out there mourning and didn't even think for my grandnephew's safety." Each word became quieter and softer.

"What does that have to with his twin sister?" Will asked him, truly confused. The pit of his stomach writhed like a snake was in there, trying to eat him alive.

"After all, we got him out of the hospital and he was as good as new," Ford whispered. He lowered his eyes to his table, as if avoiding Will's judgmental eyes. "The name Mabel slipped our tongues a few times- the first few slips were okay with him. A few heartbroken stares but that's all we got out of the fact that Dipper was still mourning his sister. Then fast forward a while later and...he became insane, William. To put it simply."

"Insane? As in, insane-insane? Or just...?" He stared at his old friend, almost as if in disbelief. What did he do this time, try and stab Stan again?

"He, er...shut down," Ford answered heavily. "When we told him, I mean. Stanley lost his cool and bullied him into remembering, and my poor nephew just...broke, in the easiest terms. Dipper wouldn't stop screaming in the middle of the night, he was having doubts on who he was, hell there was even one day he thought he could make sense of it all if he tried to redo what he did in the past."

"You mean...killing himself?" Will guessed hoarsely.

Ford grimaced. "Glad you're catching on. You...wouldn't believe how unstable my nephew is, even if he seems fine. One day he might be laughing with his colleagues, and the next he'd be chugging down wine after wine to try and clear his head. The only person who seemed to get him out of the gutter is-"

"-Damon?" Will finished.

He gave one stiff nod. "I ran a test on him when I told him it was just for a new brain research, which was half the truth," Ford barreled on. He had to clear his throat. With all the talking, Will wasn't surprised the man was starting to sound strained. "I found that Dipper's cerebral cortex, all four regions, were intact and well, but the prefrontal cortex seemed to be a little..." He frowned.

Will swore he heard the old man murmur parts of words like, "Shouldn't be...the hippocampus...no new neurons from...it can't...Northwest...?"  The guy was in his own world of numbers and shapes, and Will couldn't blame him.

Will himself had fled to his own place as well. He seemed to do that more and more nowadays, with nothing new going on in the town but new customers and new tourists to scam at the museum. As usual, he dreamt of finding a way to get rid of that pest known as Damon. Or finding a way he could have Dipper. Or- damn it.

"He tried to throw Dipper off the water tower, you know."

His eyes snapped up the a frowning face. Ford watched him, warily and tiredly. Before he could speak and stutter out a simple "What?", Ford had beat him to it. His hands played with the worn pages of his journal as he spoke, eyes downcast to look at each turn of the thumb and flip of the page. 

"Bill possessed my grandnephew a while back, when he was only twelve. Mabel called them 'Bipper' if I remember correctly. She found a note. One the demon himself wrote down."

There was a sound of ripping as Ford tore a piece of crumbled paper off the page of his book, face as blank as a statue. He handed the note to Will, who took it after wiping his palm on his pant leg, multiple times. His hand still shook as he gripped it in between his forefinger and thumb. Ford didn't point it out.

"Bill was- _is_ sadistic and psychopathic, William. I just- didn't know to the extent until Mabel showed that note to me. Fine, reign the town with an apocalypse. Use a throne of people to sit on. But to do something like this to a _twelve year old,_ is just..." Ford grimaced.

Will's eyes stared back at the paper, blank and unblinking. He pretended to read it, when really, he just simply stared. Stared back at the words he wrote- what _Bill_ wrote, and almost threw up.

It was funny how it was Mabel who ended up dying at his hands first.

The thought would've made him smile a long time ago. But now, all he felt was...well, not guilt. Not sadness. Not the regret that he had written this down. Not even anger.

He felt vulnerable.

He didn't know why.

"-ill? William? _Will?_ Are you okay?"

He swallowed, hard and long, eyes coming up to look at Ford. His hand shook, a slight tremor that reminded him of Stanley without his coffee. "Mabel...Mabel found this?" he asked. Calm, cool to the touch. Yet his voice came out weak, frail, _terrified._

"At the age of twelve," Ford said softly.

"And has- has Dipper?" he said again. He couldn't breathe. He felt like he was having one of Dipper's panic attacks. Probably worst than that.

"No." Ford shook his head, as if the thought of Dipper even knowing it _existed_ was taboo. "We both agreed to keep it a secret from him. Stan agreed as well. If he found that..."

"He would've never dated that demon." Will locked eyes with his old friend. "You told me they dated. If he found this- there was a guarantee he'd never date that- that monster."

Ford frowned. "Dipper didn't remember Bill either. It's confusing, trust me, it gives me a headache thinking about it, but Dipper's brain is not exactly what I call untouched anymore. Him finding that note would make him obsess over finding who Bill Cipher was." His frown deepened even further, changing his physique to someone older, to someone who carried secrets and burdens heavier than a multi-trillion year old demon.

"You know, Dipper told me what happened last night," Ford said.  

He froze. Which was the simplest way to describe his panic at the moment.

And to his surprise, Ford burst out laughing. "God damn, William! What do you people in this century say about-? Oh, yes! Keep it in your pants, my boy! If you would've waited a little longer, your little plan would've worked!" he guffawed.

"...what?" Will squeaked.

"Please. I may need hearing aids and I'm older than your grandmother's tortoise, but I know love when I see it." He rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't believe that Will would think such prejudice thoughts. "If Dipper wasn't so keen on only having Damon, I would've trapped the both of you in a chamber together until you professed your undying love."

"So you're not...you're not mad?" Will asked hesitantly.

"No," Ford said breezily. "Good heavens, no! You understand why I don't like Dipper with Damon, don't you?"

"Uh- not really, no," Will admitted.

Ford shot him a look while his hand played with the knobs of his tech-savvy equipment. "Don't you think that the story of them falling in love right after Dipper tried to commit _suicide,_ is a little too rushed to you?"

"I'm not catching on, Stanford."

"It's bullshit, I say!" Ford said in exasperation. One of his vials were starting to smoke. "I know my grandnephew better than anyone living on this earth. He's lonely. Probably why he decided to date some guy who strangely asked him to live at this Shack without a problem. Try spending eighteen years without a date and you could see how sad that would get."

"Are you saying he's dating Damon because he was...?" Will trailed off. Ford was rambling now, the effects of old age, probably. Will didn't know exactly what to think at this point. 

"Lonely? Maybe." Ford blew on the smoke away, wafting it right onto Will's face. Will wrinkled his nose. "Scared? I wouldn't be surprised. Because he felt obliged to date Damon after he saved his life? You damn know I believe that!"

 _I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who wants to sabotage their relationship,_ Will grumbled.

"So what do you want me to do? Make Dipper cheat on him with me?" Will asked him, half-jokingly.

Ford only gave him a half-shrug. "He falls in love with you and out of love with Damon, then so be it. I just want you to know that Dipper is actually touched by what you did."

"Sure, sure, I'll-" He felt like he was smacked in between the eyebrows. " _What_?"

"I should've told you when you first came down here but Dipper talked to me about it over coffee this morning," Ford grinned. The man's smile looked like he knew something Will didn't. "I said, 'You know, you should consider dating a guy with a last name for once' over the kitchen table. He turned an unnatural shade of pink and screamed, 'William's just a friend!' I told him I didn't mention a name. After that, we gushed over how hardworking when it came to the Shack.

"For a grunkle, you're acting more like his father," Will chuckled. He never thought 'hardworking' would ever describe him. "Anyway, thanks for the chat, Fordssss- Stanford!" He cursed himself for slipping. He dropped his tone, letting it grow quiet and solemn between them. "You're going to...tell Dipper about her soon. Right?"

Ford looked at him, almost pityingly. Will didn't know why. "If I keep running my tests on his brain activity and he becomes better, yes. But for now- it seems like Dipper Pines never had a twin sister in the first place."

Will licked his lips, stomach dropping to his knees. "I won't tell him then. If that keeps him safe."

His old friend beamed at him, truly beamed, like they used to when they were close as glue to paper. "Before you go back upstairs soon, I should probably give you something."

Will only looked at him, silently urging him to continue. Ford dropped his eyes to his vials and beakers, connecting different labeled tubes to each one with nimble hands. "While we were speaking with each other, my counter-medicine cooled down. I need you to drink it before anything else happens."

"I don't think I need protection from anything, Stanford," he offered.

"Miss Corduroy needs it as well. The both of you go on hunting trips for the souls, aren't you?" Ford looked up, just briefly, to look at him. 

"What's it for, then?" he challenged. He shouldn't be surprised that Ford knew. After all, Wendy brought the carcasses to his basement each morning. So far, not a single one brought them to the person who kept harvesting bodies.

"Keeps you in the house," Ford told him. He tapped the side of one of the larger beakers. "With you always close to so many dead souls at night, especially in the forest, the unicorn magic this Shack has is going to mistake you for a demon one day."

He frowned, slipping a slim tube out of its hole. "I could've sworn last night-"

The whole Mystery Shack shook from a loud explosion, one that sounded awfully like it was coming directly above them.

One of Stanford's many vials filled with strange colored liquids almost toppled off the table, until Ford wrapped his arm around them like a protective sling. He cursed under his breath, a small patch of his skin bubbling up when a single drop of the liquid had slipped out from the lip.

Will was already running up the stairs when Ford glanced up. "William! Get down here, that's just Dipper with his-!" Ford cursed.

Everything was a blur when he raced out, his face feeling like it was on fire. _Oh no,_ he groaned. _Oh no oh no oh no- is his face on fire? Is his whole body on fire? Did he get sucker-punched like the stupid idiot he is? Oh my God, I told him not to, nowIhavetocomefindhimand- and- he'sgoingtodieholyfuckwhatdoItellMa-_

He nearly collided with a body at the door frame, hands holding onto each side of the wooden frames to stop himself from toppling over and crashing right on top of Dipper, who was exactly a meter away from him. The living room was in full view.

There was nothing wrong with the guy, thankfully. Except for that fact that, you know, his face was smoking.

He rubbed at his smoking face, mostly his chin and jaw, with a clean towel. He glanced up at Will, probably just realizing that he was about to walk right into him. Before he could say a proper greeting, he assessed Will's ticking eye and opened mouth.

"It's more efficient," Dipper shrugged, slinging the towel onto his shoulder.

"What, bombing your face?" He meant that to be sarcastic.

"Yeah," Dipper agreed. "Grunkle Ford taught me how to shave a hundred times faster. Get a bomb, let it tick, then bam, your face is free of stubble for a few months."

Will shook his head. "Sometimes I forget how lazy that man is," he said.

"Hey," Dipper argued. He pointed at his face, which was no longer smoking and revealed a clean shaven face. "If I do it, then you're calling me lazy too."

"Ditto."

Dipper flung the towel at him.

Will only laughed, grabbing the towel that was splattered right across his face and let it down on the nearest couch. He leaned against the door, arms and ankles crossed like he was a bad boy from the 1950s. All he needed to do now was steal Damon's hideous hat.

"So, what brings you to this lovely home, Pines?" he drawled. He went as far as to wiggle his eyebrows.

"It's my house," he said simply.

"Damn it. Your line was, 'Oh, I just wanted to visit my lovely friend William!'," he groaned.

Dipper chuckled, stepping backward and letting his body crash against the sofa chair (that was coincidentally right behind him). Will refused to move from his spot leaning against the door frame though.

"If you're wondering why I'm home when I should be at the school teaching, it's because I called in sick," Dipper explained.

"Sick from what? Damonitis?" he snorted.

"Close. Williamitis." Dipper grinned at him.

"Oh no," Will fake-gasped. "I heard it's extremely contagious in nerdy teachers who do nothing in their free time but try and get themselves killed with experiments with their uncles."

"Yes, I heard that too," Dipper agreed with a considerate nod. "The Williamitis originated from Germany, I'm pretty sure. It traveled to all of North America when a frightening man with a rare disease infesting in him called the Dumbo's Disease traveled to Oregon and landed himself to live with a cat who never comes home, two old men, a hottie, and a brown-haired smartass."

"You must be the hottie then," Will purred. "I didn't know Damon dyed his hair brown though."

"Please," Dipper scoffed. He folded his hands over his stomach lazily, slumping against his sofa chair. "That's an understatement. I'm so hot I turn on the shower every night."

Will felt his grin widened at Dipper's playfulness. "Back to seriousness," Will said, "why the hell are you staying home? There's nothing here but slow business and half eaten sandwiches on the bathroom floor."

"Damon wanted to make up for arguing with me last night." He shrugged. "Wanted to take me on a date but his plans got canceled because the buffet we wanted to go to closed today for family emergencies."

"Sounds like he wanted to fatten you up if it's a buffet," Will commented.

"Well yeah. I mean, have you seen my arms?" he said incredulously, lifting his arms and waving them like they were noodles to make a point. No matter how much he exercised or ate, it was clear that Dipper Pines was never going to grow out of his spaghetti arms.

He laughed, bobbing his head in a way to agree with him. "So, whatcha gonna do all day without annoying adolescent humans nagging you for help on the square root of four hundred fifty?" he asked.

"Sulk, probably. Bummed out that I couldn't go on that date with my boyfriend, but whatever." Dipper tucked his chin, huffing.

"I know what will make you feel better!" Will grinned. "WE GET KIDS!"

Dipper coughed.

Two heartbeats later, and Will finally realized what was wrong with his sentence. "I meant the daycare," he said quickly. "Not actually make kids. That would be weird. Because we're just friends. Kids are weird too. Probably weirder than-"

"You?" Damon guessed, coming into the living room. He brushed up against Will's shoulder as he passed, but they didn't purposely shove each other like they usually did (accompanied by glares of course). He knew better than to start drama with Dipper in view.

"I was going to say that, yes, but the 'you' was directed to none other than Damon. Which is _you._ "

"Will, you're giving me a headache," Dipper moaned.

"Maybe if we make him move out, he'd stop giving you headaches, eh?" Damon suggested hopefully. He leaned down to give Dipper a kiss, but the brunet simply pushed his face away, snorting. 

"Be a little nicer to Will and we'll see about your kisses," he said. Damon pouted.

"See? Your boyfriend is on my side. Ha!" Will guffawed.

"I'm not on your side either, Will."

"HA!" Damon shouted in victory.

Will scowled, nails digging into his biceps like little bites. "Very funny, Damon. That's so immature of you, to laugh over that."

"What? You just-!" Damon argued.

"So hey Dipper, how about going to that daycare, huh?" he said overly sweetly. He smiled innocently at Dipper, and the guy bought it.

"William, I don't know..." he said slowly.

"It'll help you bond with Damon, you know," he blurted out. Now where the fuck did that come from?

Dipper looked at him, a little curiously- definitely intrigued though. Damon looked like he wasn't trying to listen in, but the alarm in his face when Will blurted it out was more than enough to give him away. "How?" was Dipper's simply question.

"You know," Will said with a somewhat nervous laugh. "The daycare is always open for volunteers. It'll be fun to play with children that still don't know the grasp of the harsh reality of the world and instead tune in to the frogs jumping around. And- ya know...kids...they might direct you to...learning more about parenting...?"

Dipper kicked the back of Damon's shin, the other letting out a sharp yelp of pain. " _What_?" he said in annoyance. He had to bend over to rub the back of his knee, all the while giving Dipper a curious look.

"Kids," Dipper said simply. "Ever heard of them?"

"Ah yes. It's not like I was one of them for a little less than half my life," Damon said sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's antics. "I want two in a couple years," Dipper said again.

Damon grinned. His eyes glanced over at Will for a reaction at Dipper's words, the glee in his eyes telling William that he was clearly enjoying the other's deepened scowl. "Yeah, sure," he sang, turned back to look at his boyfriend. "Just after I buy you a ring, hmm?"

"And finally you bring up proposals!" Dipper said in relief. "Do that more often. I'll be dead before I get to marry you. Don't you agree, Will?"

"Yeah, Damon," Will chirped. "You never know, I might propose first before you do."

Dipper laughed, causing Damon to laugh as well- but his was a little more subdued. Will's laugh beat his wince by a long mile, when he just simply stood there, grinning.

 _You say you smile because you're happy, but you smile because it hurts,_ the little voice in his head taunted. _Tick tock, William._

_You're already losing._

_************** _

The first thing he saw when they came through the door was a boy who seemed to be the age of fourteen (A young volunteer to get out of their boring house, he assumed). The other volunteers, the ones who recognized William the moment he came in, told him that the boy was the replacement of a certain red-head, who finally admitted to letting a kid be taken by someone other than their parents. Will would've felt bad on a better day.

"They seem to know you," Dipper told him, nodding to the volunteers who were trying to gather up the kids to go inside from outdoor break. They all waved and beamed at Will as they passed by, with the exception of the replacement boy, who only screamed, "CLOWN DOWN, I REPEAT, _CLOWN DOWN_!" when the kids tackled him to the ground with inhumane cheers of victory.

"What do you think I do for hours when you're gone?" Will asked.

"You volunteer here?" Damon chuckled. "You must've been sued so many times that the workers don't even care for the lawsuits over mistreated children anymore."

Will glowered at him, right behind Dipper's head. Damon flipped him off when Dipper turned his head to look at the art on the wall. Will flipped him off twice.

"JJ looks like he could be the next Picasso," he commented, completely oblivious to the flipping off contest behind his head. He turned his head to look at Damon, which forced the other to drop his hands and give his boyfriend a sweet smile. "Don't you think so?"

"Yeah," Damon smiled. "Your godson could sell his art pieces for hundreds."

"I've seen adults make worst art than JJ could," Will boasted. He pointed at one particular drawing they passed, which exhibited two vases- a wonderful shade of blue, with cracks in every crevice and curve of the vases, just like his eyes. They looked like something that belonged to an art museum. 

"Those look amazing," gasped Dipper, whose own eyes were wide with awe. The art they passed by were mostly made by JJ, but they all seemed to be doodles. The vases were what JJ seemed to put the most effort in. "Those...those actually look like your eyes, Will."

 _They're based on my eyes actually, since JJ considers me his only best friend,_ he almost blurted. Since he couldn't draw for shit, even when JJ tried his best to teach him how to color within the walls or trace over his own art, they compromised and made Will a model. Mostly for his eyes.

Before he could say anything, one of the volunteers (who greeted Will with an overly excited wave) told them to go right through the door she just came out of, explaining to them that the kids were just to roam around for twenty more minutes until they went to the park. Will offered her his thanks, and looked back at his companions.

"When I open this door, I need you guys to promise me some things," he said seriously.

"What, not tell the others when you accidentally drop a child down the toilet?" Damon scoffed. Dipper elbowed his ribs.

"I'm in no way responsible for any broken ribs, legs, bones, or muscles, or hearts," he continued, shooting Damon a death glare as he did so. "They might say some weird- who am I kidding? They _will_ say some weird things, but just nod and smile when it really creeps you out. These kids aren't normal- at least I think so anyway- yeesh if all human kids were like this, _damn-_ but-"

"So _what_?" Damon asked him in exasperation. "It's just kids. What's the worst thing that could happen? Just open the door, man."

Will stared at him, for about five seconds like he was assessing if the guy was worthy, and gripped the doorknob. "Welcome to what I call, 'Satan's Playground'," he said tiredly.

The moment he twisted the knob, pushing it open, the whole room within was sentenced to silence. No cricket sounds, no terrified screams of kids being chased by swords, or the sounds of blocks being knocked down by douchebags of children.

But three and a half seconds later, when Will took four more steps into the playroom, their eardrums were blown out by a loud chorus of, _"MISTER DORITO MAN!"_

His vision of the tables and the carpet were skewered sideways as a child tackled him to the ground. Then another. Then another. Then five more. Then all of them were all rushing forward after a certain two and a half year old twin with blond hair pounded their chest like an ape and bellowed, "DOG PILE!"

"No wait, I haven't even-!" Will wailed.

He made an audible "oof" sound as another weight came on top of the monster tower of children, and someone else became a victim to it. Dipper went down in flames, yelping as he landed right beside Will while little swarms of kids flocked to him like birds to bread. No one knocked down Damon, who simply stood there, blinking as he tried to process everything.

"Off, off, _off_!" Will shouted. He got one of his arms free, pounding the carpet with his fist uselessly. "The last person on me is getting tortured by the Tickle Feathers tonight!" he roared.

Just like they were sprayed by holy water, they all screamed and hiss, scattering and running away from Will and Dipper. Only a few, mostly older kids who thought taking risks were cool, stayed and laughed while they crushed the duo under their - _ahem-_ fat weights.

"Is it always like this with them?" Dipper shouted over the frightened and giggly screams. He didn't bother trying to wiggle out.

"Every _time_!" he wailed. "I told them to stop dog-piling me but they won't freaking _listen_!"

"Cheer up," Dipper laughed. He managed to get both of his arms free from under a ten year old's stomach. "At least you're not alone on this one."

"You have a point," he grumbled. "I swear, they were more mischievous than I was when I was only about- _hey_!" He tried to grab back the hat that was taken off his precious head.

The little girl cackled like a witch dropping his dirty pine tree hat three meters away from him. She sprinted away before Will could take a good look at her face and swear revenge.

"MISTER DORITO MAN, MISTER DORITO MAN, MISTER DORITO MAN!" the kids chanted.

"Mister Dorito Man is going to be Mister Child-Eating Demon Man if no one gets the Raging Tampon, the Shady Vegan, and the Flirty Trash off me!" he shouted, pointing at only three toddlers pinning Dipper and him down. How three demonic children could hold two adults down, he never knew.

At the serious alert of William using codenames, they all rushed to yank the three giggling toddlers off them, laughing out their apologies to the both of them.

"The Shady Vegan shall be test for the guillotine!" Orion whooped, raising his plastic golden staff above his head. He sat on the shoulders of one of the older students, who looked bored out of his mind and didn't seem too surprised at the fact that a two year old was proposing murder.

Liz, his rational twin sister, slapped him over the head with a pink wand. She, too, sat on the shoulders of an elder child.

Will was barely surprised to see them here of all places _and_ become dictators of the whole daycare. After all, he was the one who suggested this daycare to Pacifica Northwest when she still struggled to find still sane babysitters.

"Peace offering," she instead suggested, pointing at the dropped hat in front of Will. Will sat up, cracking his back with a grimace while Dipper did the same, only with a laugh to set their differences.

A little girl with pigtails bent over and grabbed it, skipping over to Dipper, who she presented with a toothy smile. Dipper blinked, his smile still on his face as he took it from her with a heart thank you.

"Why are you smiling so much?" Will asked him in disbelief. "They're demons! Spawns of the hell-bent dimension! Legacies of the devil!"

"Sorry, I just- haven't seen so many kids in so long. Or anything as cute as them, really," Dipper explained. He still had his old hat clutched tightly in his hand. "Hanging out with angsty teenagers all the time can get to your head."

Will only grumbled. "If you please, it would be nice to have my-"

Dipper slammed the hat over his head, yanking the bill down to Will's eyes. He laughed when Will yelped, adjusting the hat to look at him with a playful pout.

He suddenly couldn't breathe when a little girl tackled him by the side, hugging him tightly. "Nu!" she wailed. "Mister Dorito Man is mine! Not you, Mister Annoyed Taco!"

Dipper arched an eyebrow. "All I did was-"

"Nooo!" Liz cursed. She raised her sparkly pink wand like it was a sword of victory. "Mister Dorito Man is no longer single! Retreat, comrades!"

Dipper's eyes widened when he realized what they were so worked up about. "No, no wait- Will isn't my-"

"Traitor, traitor, traitoooooooooor!" Orion yelled, pointing his golden staff at Dipper.

"Hold your horses, kiddos! This new friend of yours is just my-" Will argued.

"You shalt walk ze Hill of Fucks!" Orion commanded, now having his staff pointed at Will. "Hill of Fucks" came out as "Pill of Pucks".

"Of shame!" agreed Liz.

"For fu-!" Damon said in exasperation. Will shot him a look. "- _dge's_ sake! _DIPPER'S MY BOYFRIEND, NOT WILL'S, HE'S SINGLE AS MY F- FREAKING CAT_!" he screamed.

There was a silence. Then, " _Oooooh_ " being said by everyone as they nodded thoughtfully like it answered all of life's questions. Which Will could probably literally tell them right now, but that didn't matter.

"Alright," Will said with a loosened sigh. He crossed his legs, shooting the whole room a look that made every single person in the room sit down the same way he did, excluding Damon. Damon looked around in surprise for a couple seconds before he sat down as well, scooting over to sit beside Dipper.

"The guy you just assaulted with me is Dipper Pines. Say hi, you miniature monsters."

There was a chorus of "hello" and "hi!" in the crowd. Dipper waved back at them, awkwardly.

"Right beside him is Damon Something-Something. Say 'you smell' to him, you angels."

They did as told. Dipper laughed at his boyfriend's wrinkled nose, the both of them openly surprised at the control Will had over the kids in the room (at least for the moment).

"Now, any questions before we go to the park and let you loose like chickens?" Will finally asked.

Hands shot up high. Will searched the crowd, squinting at each person. "You," he ordered, choosing a child with orange shorts. Over the child's head, he could see JJ, head bent down to secretly doodle on what Will assumed was a scrap piece of paper and a broken crayon he found on the floor. JJ glanced up at him, and gave him a toothy grin of greeting before going back to his sketch.

"Why is your name Dipper?" they asked innocently.

"It's a nickname," Dipper explained patiently. "I got it the name early on, about your guys' ages. I still use it." Will loved how warm the brunet sounded talking to these kids.

"Yo, your turn, Lester my man," Will said, making a finger gun and pretending to shoot it at another kid at the very back.

"Can I nap at the park?"

"If you don't sleep in the sewer this time, yes." Will added, "Also, that wasn't a question for Dipper or Damon, Lester."

"Dang!" he cursed.

"Ah yes, I remember you. Ask away, kid," Will said, waving at an energetic little girl.

"How can Dipper's great uncle flip someone off if he has six fingers?" she asked sweetly.

Every eye turned to Dipper. The brunet simply shrugged, like he's been asked this dozens of times before. "With determination and lots and lots of amounts of anger directed at my other great uncle," Dipper answered breezily.

Will could confirm that right now if he wanted to.

"JJ, take away the show. The last question for the best," Will grinned, pointing right at his friend who shyly put up his hand.

JJ cleared his throat, shifting his weight underneath him. "Mom's pregnant again."

"I heard." Dipper smiled softly at him. "Did they tell you what they're going to name him?"

"No!" he cried, sounding distressed. "Mom's pregnant again- and yes, I know what that is now, I'm a grown man! It's just that they said they want to get up to seven kids, so there's one of each day of the week!" People were starting to snicker, even though Dipper and Will glanced at each other in concern. Damon frowned to himself.

"And why does that bother you?" Dipper asked, incredulous. "Don't you _want_ more siblings to play with?"

"Because that means they won't love me for six days of the week!"

The whole room burst out laughing.

Only the three adults in the room plus JJ himself seemed to take it seriously. Dipper glanced at him, and Will glanced back. They both knew JJ personally, even though Dipper may or may not know that himself, and knew exactly what kind of issues the kid had in his own home. Like the fact that he thought his parents were neglecting him.

"Alright, settle down, you bumbling buffoons," Will ordered, chuckling to himself. Mostly out of his own joke though.

"Let's go to the park, shall we?" he suggested. Everyone cheered. "But- no one gets to go on the glider today. I don't want any more incidents," he said seriously.

"Yes, Mister Dorito Man," the whole room chorused.

Damon shook his head. "I am never going to get used to how creepy that was."

************  
**

"Chalk," Will said, disbelieved to no end. "The one thing I forget to tell them not to do and it's _chalk._ "

"Aw, it's not so bad," Damon cooed. He looked back down at the chalk art they had done, and cringed. "Nevermind, it's bad."

On the wide sidewalks of the park were chalk art that stretched way beyond where Will told them to stay in. Thankfully, none were on the road, but they might as well be, with how much they had drawn on. 

Which, by the way, were hundred and hundred of penises.

"How can innocent kids like them even draw penises so  _realistically_?" Dipper asked, looking down at one beneath his feet.

"I blame JJ."

"Damon, JJ is too innocent to reference people to draw penises."

"You're right." Damon sighed. "It must be Orion."

"Orion is _two,_ " Dipper reminded him.

"With the mind of a dirty-minded fifteen year old frat boy!" Damon argued.

"For once in my life, I agree with Damon," Will sighed. He nudged the chalk art with the tip of his shoe. "If there is one person in this world who thinks, 'penis' when they get handed chalk and told to draw whatever, it's Perseus Orion Northwest."

"Don't forget the part that he bribes his sister with glittery new headbands to not tell their mom about drawing such horrid things for the Northwest name," Dipper added.

Will snapped his fingers. " _That's_ what we were missing! Can't believe I missed that!" he exclaimed. He turned to look at Dipper. "See? It was just meant to be, Pines," he purred.

"Meant to be _what_?" Damon demanded.

Dipper stepped on Will's toe, giving him a little bit of mercy with the lightness of his step. "Don't mind him. He hasn't stopped flirting with me since this morning." He rolled his eyes.

Damon pulled him close to his hip, almost possessively. "I could make him stop, if you want," he mumbled, giving his boyfriend a light kiss to the temple. "All I have to do is punch him in the face. You jut have to say the word."

"It's fine," Dipper sighed. "I wouldn't mind that either way though."

Will tried not to gag. "Excuse me, but I'm right here, love birds," Will pointed out. He then pointed at himself, poking his chest to prove a point. "I could hear everything you're saying right now."

Damon grinned at him, his mischievous little smile hidden from Dipper's plain sight. "We know," he said.

Again, Will tried not to groan. A few of the kids around them took the liberty to take their supervisors' distractions to their own use, running around the field and picking daises while the others swung around the playground like hyperactive chimpanzees. None of them seemed to mind or care about the male reproductive organ drawn over and over on the ground.

Actually, no one did. Except for the revolted adults, of course.

"OH HELL TO THE MOTHERFUCKING NO!" one of the volunteers screamed, chasing Orion around the playground perimeter. Orion was screaming bad word after bad word from his mouth like he could never have the chance again. Liz only stared at them run around with an empty look in her eyes while she ate a granola bar up top the monkey bars.

"So uh..." Dipper coughed, nudging another drawn dick on the ground. His waist was still wrapped around Damon's arm. "Do we force them to clean this up or...?"

"They'd just make it worst." Will shrugged. He looked down at the chalk art, trying his best to suppress his grin for Dipper's sake. "Besides, no one minds. Better to be lazy than to have the chance to make it worst, am I right or am I right?"

"We could get sued," Damon offered up when Dipper side-eyed him in a way that said, _you better take my side or I'm walking away._

"Over what? 'This just in, kids in the park drew dicks for fun and the volunteers are now being sued!' That's a stupid concept, don't cha think, asshat?"

Damon's hand twitched, like it was about to fly over to his hat on his head. He glared at Will, retorting, "At least I'm not wearing a store-bought hat that was twenty cents because it was in the trash as a discount!"

Will almost snapped back, about to remind him that this was indeed in fact his _boyfriend's_ old hat, but something tugged on his shirt and he was forced to look down at a chubby round face that belonged to no other than Jesus Junior Ramirez.

"JJ," he said in surprise. "What do you want, kid?"

Dipper and Damon looked down at him  as well, looking much like a TV couple. Dipper's arms crossed, Damon's hand in his pocket and other arm around Dipper's waist- Will tried his best not to bolt out of there with JJ.

JJ's eyes flickered over behind Will, where the two were, before meeting his eyes with his own wide child-like ones. "Can we talk about my art?" he asked innocently, even as going as far as to bat his eyelashes. "Mom and dad bought me new pencil crayons to color with!"

"But I thought you said you hated pencil cra- _ow_!" Will hissed, hands flying over to the side of his stomach, where JJ had flicked him. "What was that-?!"

The kid raised both of his eyebrows, then looked behind Will, then back at him.

"What?" He frowned. "Look, JJ, if you're mad about your parents, you could talk to Dipper too, he's your- _quit it_!" JJ had stomped on his foot.

What was it with children and abusing ex-demons?!

"Dude," JJ hissed in between his teeth.

" _What_?" he groaned. "I don't know what you want me to do! All you're doing is-" He shut his mouth. Bobbing his head, he said thoughtfully, "Oh. Right. Heh."

"Finally," JJ groaned, taking Will by the shirt and dragging him away from the playground. Will almost stumbled into the ground.

He looked behind himself, craning his neck to watch Dipper and Damon. They were staring at him, in equal amounts of confusion and satisfaction- with Dipper being the confused one and Damon being the little shit who loved seeing him go.

"I'll catch up with you two later!" he called out. "JJ just wants to show me his new set of- yeah, I don't know!"

"We'll just be by the hammock, then!" Dipper told him.

"Take your sweet time!" Damon called out right after, waving merrily. "Dipper and I have some catching up to do!" Then, he turned to look at Dipper, smiled, gave each other looks, and pulled the other away in the opposite direction. It didn't take an egghead to know "catching up" was code word for "making out". Will made a belching noise.

JJ didn't let that go unnoticed as he unceremoniously dragged Will away. "Damon looks...nice," he said hesitantly.

"Never met him before?" Will asked him. 

"Nope," he answered, popping the 'p'. "Dad takes me to visit the Shack sometimes, but I never see that guy around. The only other time I saw him up that close was when you told me to bring that rose, and ever since, I was stalking him!"

"You were- _what_?" Will said, incredulous. He told JJ to keep an eye, not go full-on James Bond! Though that was a good thing, he was sure...

"Stalking him," JJ said slowly, as if Will was in first grade. "It means I-"

"I know what that means," Will said impatiently. He almost fell in a gopher hole, collecting himself with a huff. JJ kept tugging him along, away from his daycare friends and from people in general. They were walking down an empty field. "JJ, I get you want to do something for me for being your friend, but I didn't mean to just-"

"Did you know Damon had a brother?" he piped up.

Will blinked. "No," he admitted. "JJ, you're getting us off topic."

"It's not off topic!" JJ cried. He looked at Will, for a brief moment, before turning back to tug them away from civilization. "I- I asked my dad to take me to the cemetery and there was a freakin' _gravestone,_ Will! It said, 'Here lies-' blah blah blah, I forgot the name, it was in French with fancy accents and everything, but then it said, 'The brother of Damon'."

Will arched an eyebrow, despite the fact that JJ couldn't really see him doing so. "What does Damon having a brother have to do anything with what I told you to do?"

"Because he doesn't have a last name, stupid!" JJ hissed.

"Don't swear, you're only seven!" he argued. _Even though Orion already knows how to say "titty taters" and "fuck boys" at his age,_ he added solemnly.

"Sorry!" JJ quickly called out. "But Will, don't you think that's a little weird? That Damon's whole family doesn't have a last stinking name? What if he was hiding something? Like, like, _like-_ "

"Whoa there, buddy." Will tugged his shirt away, catching up to JJ's pace with his own longer legs with ease. "Damon's human. I could tell because his blood isn't- I mean- _yeah._ He's not even half-orc or anything. Whatever it is-"

" _He's_ not, but what if his _brother_ isn't!" JJ exclaimed. He turned his big eyes to Will, holding his hand like a kid in a busy mall with their mother. "Don't you think any of this is even _a little_ suspicious to you? I mean, you're the one who wants to bust a nut in my uncle!"

"I- you-" Will stammered. He collected himself. "Where the hell did you learn to say _that_?"

"Orion," JJ answered dismissively. "He told me it meant 'date'. His sister is my art buddy!"

"Nice, nice," Will said with a bob of his head. His mind was reeling now, his migraines coming back full force. "Jay, look, kid- we can't talk for long. I'm getting headaches. You need to finally just-"

"Why?"

"Why what?" He was starting to get a little annoyed.

"Why are you getting headaches?"

 _"I don't know!"_ he snapped. "Maybe the fact that the guy I love likes someone else and some seven year old human is telling me to start getting my hopes up all over again! But hey, everything is A-okay, isn't it, because I could just somehow magically make Dipper fall out of love with someone he was with for nearly three years and make him crawl back to _me_ as if I didn't abuse him mentally, physically, and emotionally, when he was only _twelve_  and again at _eighteen_! _I KILLED HIS SISTER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, AND I DON'T EVEN FEEL THE AMOUNT OF GUILT I SHOULD BE FEELING_!"

JJ shut his mouth.

His anger faded away, and Will looked down at him. He blinked, halting to a stop somewhere far away from the daycare group. They were only tiny dots in the distance. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't know where that came from but..."

"You're a demon."

JJ halted with him, pivoting on his heel to look at him. Will chewed on his bottom lip, hard and long, like he was planning to tear it off. JJ tilted his head, almost innocently, as if he wasn't accusing Will of something as big as that.

"You're...you're Bill Cipher. You're the guy who nearly killed my dad during Weirdmageddon."

Will tasted blood in his mouth. He kept chewing anyway. "Used to," he mumbled. "I'm not...I'm not him anymore. He died a long time ago."

"But you were him."

He hesitated. "Yes."

"And you're in love with him." JJ furrowed his brow. "And you miss him. The old him."

"Has anyone ever told you that it's impossible for such a smart kid to be born from Melody and a pig-man?" Will asked him quietly.

"Not smart, just observant," JJ shrugged. He wouldn't stop looking at Will. Not in disgust. Or anger. Or any kind of emotion, really. Just...blankly, as if he was looking at a test he didn't study on.

"If- if you're a demon, can't you just- you know?" He made explosion sound effects, motioning his arms as if they were a volcano just erupting. 

"If it was that easy, I would've done it a long time ago," Will chuckled. He tried to avoid the kid's eyes. "I actually tried to do it. A while back. You understand why I didn't do it, don't you?" he said softly. His nails were digging in to the skin of his palms. Since he couldn't chew while he spoke, he needed another way to distract himself. Pain always seemed to be the first answer with him.

JJ was silent for a while, as if he was trying to understand it. "Because...Damon made my uncle happy?" he guessed, unsure of himself. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Or was it something else? Honestly, I wouldn't care if you killed a man, you're still my friend."

"Do you think your uncle will still think the same?" he snapped. JJ cringed back. "His happiness is the only thing I care about anymore. If he's happy with Damon, then _fine._ I don't care. JJ, I told you to watch out for Damon because I thought I still had a chance. I don't anymore. With how the Pines work, I'm sure at least one of those ding-heads told you about what happened. Dipper's happy with _him,_ not me-"

"He's not happy," JJ insisted. "He may look happy but that's because Dipper doesn't like being pitied." Will tilted his head in question, silently asking the young boy to continue. "I've seen him cry before," JJ told him. "When no one's looking, he'd lock himself in his room and cry. I've seen Damon try and comfort him but Dipper doesn't change. But when you go up to him and say 'stop' to whatever he's doing, whether it's breathing or crying, he'd do it!" he cried, "Will, you're twice the idiot than you were as Bill. He cares about you and be trusts you more than he ever will with that jerk!"

He started to flail his arms. "Dude, you still have a freakin' chance! Sure he'd be mad at you but uncle Dipper was never mad at anyone for more than twenty four hours! And what's worst was that he loved you and you threw those feelings away from him! Dude, if you didn't erase his memories, we could have avoided a whole goddamn useless book about your stupid dramatic love life!"

Will simply blinked. _How old are you?_ was what he almost asked. But instead, it somehow came out as, "Why did you need to talk to me?"

"About Damon, you stupid!" JJ groaned.

"What _about_ him?" It's like they were going in circles.

"I don't want that guy as my uncle-in-law or something, I want you! He's _weeeird,_ " he complained.

"Wait. Hold on." Will looked down at him. "You pulled me all the way here, told me you were thinking that Damon was suspicious for not having a last name, we have an emotional conversation about me still going after Dipper, then the whole time you just wanted to say you don't want Damon as an _in-law_?" he said in disbelief.

"Wow Will, if you put it that way, that makes me sound like I was seven," JJ huffed.

"You _are_!" Will threw his hands up in frustration. "Jay, you're way too young to even be telling me about this kind of-"

"What stuff? That you can't even get yourself a date?" JJ taunted.

"You're lucky you can scream for help here, JJ, or else I would've-"

"Hold. The. Phone." Will clamped his mouth shut. "Now give the phone to me," JJ finished. He put his chubby little fingers on each side of his hips, first wagging a finger in front of Will's nose like a salty grandmother. "I need to go back to finish my drawings for a twenty dollar commission from some guy in Hawaii. _You,_ on the other hand, have some sweet talking to do to a certain special someone!"

"But-" Will stuttered.

"No buts, Willy!" JJ huffed. He stomped his foot. "And _damn,_ that was hard to say without giggling like my daycare mates! Dude, just _talk_ to him!"

"But Dipper's-" he wearied.

He almost yelped as something round and small hit him square in the chest, his hands coming right up to trap the item in between his fingers. He looked down at it, squinting at the red fruit in his hands. Will looked back down at his friend. "An apple?" he asked, bewildered. "Why and how do you have an-?"

"You know Ancient Greece myths?" JJ asked him.

Will snorted. "I'm best friends with Zeus and got married to Aphrodite for two days."

If JJ thought he was kidding, he certainly didn't show it. "Welp. Now you a conversation starter." He flashed two thumbs up, grinning. "Good luck!" Before Will could say anything else, JJ turned around on a heel and jogged off.

"JJ, look down, there's a gopher hole right in front-" Will called out.

"OW!" 

Will cringed. "Yeowch. That's gonna sting in the morning," he said to himself. He looked back down at the apple that JJ had smacked across his chest. Then looked up to the two trees that made up a hammock, just barely in his sight. Two figures were swinging on the said hammock, looking way too close to not be cuddling. Ugh.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, the apple curled around one of them. Sulking, he made his way over to the love birds, back slouched and eyes on the ground in front of him. Some of the kids that he passed waved at him, completely oblivious to his grumpy mood. The toothy grins at him almost made him want to turn right around and play skip rope with the girls in pigtails. Doing _that_ was a better alternative than being forced to watch Dipper make out with his boyfriend anyway.

Before he could change his mind and do exactly just that, he found himself standing a few feet away from the hammock, still unnoticed by the two boys on it while they read what looked like a dictionary resting on Dipper's stomach. Damon was right behind him, arms wrapped around his boyfriend's waist while his chin rested on Dipper's brown hair.

In fact, it was Damon who noticed first. His eyes glanced over at Will standing there in complete surprise, before that was replaced by a smugness, his lips quirking in a smirk. His eyes came back to Dipper's book.

"And then there were three," Will said sarcastically.

Dipper looked up in surprise, clacking his boyfriend's chin into his jaw, though he didn't seem to notice. He looked over at Will, closing his book and pressing it against his chest. "Will!" he said in surprise.

"Yes, that's my name," Will said again.

"You sure about that, buddy?" Damon grumbled.

"Yes, I'm sure," Will snapped. He pulled out the apple from his pocket. Instead of bickering with Damon for the three hundredth time in that week, he tossed the apple in Dipper's direction, saying "Catch," as his only warning.

Dipper planted his feet against the ground, hands out to get ready to catch the apple. Midway through, something seemed to click when he got a glimpse of Will's wolf-like grin, and he scowled. He dodged the apple, letting it fall to the ground somewhere behind him while he raised his middle finger and said, "Nope."

"Aw," Will teased. He sat down on the smaller hammock, right across from them. He almost fell through from how thin the fabric was, and he could still hear it straining under his weight when he settled in, fingers hooked underneath it to keep himself steady.

Damon watched this little heated exchange with a confused smile, pecking his boyfriend on the temple after a few more glares tossed towards Will's direction. "So what did JJ want, Will?" he said, overly-sweetly.

Will almost wrinkled his nose, until he saw that Dipper was watching him as well, curious about his godson. "He just wanted to show me a new drawing of his, that's all," he drawled.

"Out in the field?" Dipper asked, confused.

"Uh. Yeah," he answered, bobbing his head. "He drew something in the dirt. With grass. Creative kid, am I right?"

"Yeah," Dipper smiled, a little oblivious to his lie. Damon, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at him. "It was nice talking to less angstier teens. I forgot to say thank you to you."

"No need for gratitude, Pines. You were bored," Will grinned. He forced his smile to stay, just to irritate the hell out of Damon. "If you want, I could take you somewhere more fun. Just you and I. To somewhere more...adult."

"Oh? And what place would that be, William?"

Will's grin widened. "The strip club."

"I'm sorry, but Dipper has no interest in going to strip clubs," Damon snapped. "He has a boyfriend."

"Aw, why are you such the buzzkill, Damon? You can go too," Will purred. He quirked an eyebrow. "You _are_ over eighteen, right?"

It was comical seeing Damon turn so red. "Of course I am!" he said, almost sputtering out his word. "Why would you even _ask_ that?"

"It was just how your face looks, you know? And how you act? You can pass for a twelve year old," Will shrugged.

Dipper laughed, Damon's face only turning more and more red by the second. "Will's right, you know," Dipper chuckled. "Your face is adorable. Especially when you're mad."

"Well, to you," Damon grumbled.

"That's because you're a big teddy bear."

"You're lucky I'm dating you. Or else I would've pushed you off the hammock right now."

"Well, what's stopping you?"

"Hmm, you're right. Maybe I should just-"

"Damon!" Dipper scolded, laughing even louder when the other's arms shot forward and started to tickle him. "That tickles!"

"That's the point!" Damon sang.

Damon only tickled him harder, Dipper writhing in his arms with laughs and heaves coming out of his mouth. The hammock swayed underneath them in disturbance, laughter filling the air to mix with the ones in the distance, from the kids who laughed joyfully as Dipper was with Damon.

Will scowled. "Excuse me, but I'm still here, ya know."

They didn't pay him any mind.

"Guys."

Damon squealed when Dipper turned around, giving him payback.

"Guys!"

Dipper tackled him, pinning him to the swaying fabric of the hammock. 

"GUYS!"

Damon grabbed him by the waist, hooking a finger in Dipper's belt loop and forcing the other down for a kiss to the lips. Dipper let him.

The hammock snapped when one knot came up in flames.

Dipper and Damon fell to the ground in a heap, looking around in a daze with Dipper's book right beside them, hidden in a lump under the hammock's material. Damon was once again to be the first to see him, glaring at Will like he knew it was all his fault.

"Now that's over with," Will said calmly, "what the hell were you guys doing while I was gone?"

Dipper paused, as if he was pondering over this mega hard question of Will's. "Things," he decided to say, almost proudly.

"What 'things'?" Will asked again, using air quotes around 'things'.

"Things," Dipper shrugged. His hand crept towards the book, hiding it further behind him. If that was the journal, Will was going to-

Damon looked between them and their (sexual?) tension, sighing dramatically. "My boyfriend thought it would be nice if we both learned how to speak German," he answered. Dipper looked at him like he betrayed Dipper's deepest darkest secret.

Will only quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Apparently, he wants to learn your language to have something to talk about," Damon said distastefully. "As if he-"

Dipper elbowed him, hard, his face glowering with murder.

Will laughed, climbing down from his spot on his own hammock and plopping himself on the floor right in front of them. There- now they were even.

"Well, if you wanted to learn German, I'm your guy," Will purred. "And Latin, Arabic, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin, Swahili-"

"All fluent?" Damon scowled. "There is no way you know all that."

"You want to bet against me, _salope_?"

Dipper's brows furrowed in confusion. "Is that German?"

Will waved a hand. "French," he said dismissively. "Not the kissy-kissy type of French either. If you get what I mean. Anyway, if you wanna learn, just say the word, Professor Pines."

"That's my nickname for him!" Damon snapped.

"Well, that sucks, considering how thirty other students call him the same thing!" Will snapped back. Damon clamped his mouth shut. 

"Do the two of you ever stop arguing?" Dipper asked in exasperation. He turned to look at Will. "Okay, fine. Teach me something."

Will grinned. "Well, what do you wanna know?"

Dipper groaned. "Do I _have_ to?"

"Oh yes, you do. You need a topic, hun," Will sang.

"Fine." Dipper threw his hands up in the air, his legs crossing underneath him to mimic Will's pose. "Uh...numbers?"

" _Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf_." Will counted them off his fingers. "One, two, three, four, five. Repeat it."

" _Eins, zwei, drei, vier, f-_ what?"

"Hard 'oh'. Like when little kids hear someone has a crush on somebody in the classroom," Will offered.

"How is that supposed to help him?" Damon asked him.

" _Fünf_." Dipper grinned, like he said the funniest thing in the world. He laughed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I didn't mess that up this time!"

"Good. Now we do ninety-five more," Will teased.

"Aw c'mon!" Dipper groaned.

"Okay, no more numbers," Will told him. "Did you know you can add nouns together for nearly infinitely in German?"

"That's not even-" Damon frowned.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Dipper nodded his head thoughtfully. "Kinda neat. Weird, but neat."

"Mhm," Will agreed. "How about we do animals next for the heck of it?" he suggested.

Dipper bobbed his head, even though Damon seemed less than pleased. "Why animals?" he asked, a little annoyed.

Will turned his eyes to Damon. He narrowed his eyes. "Bite your lower lip for me, Damon."

Damon hesitated. "Why?"

"Just do it." He rolled his eyes.

Damon did as told. He seemed a little uncomfortable doing it.

"There. Now keep your mouth shut while I teach your boyfriend a language he wants to learn."

Dipper guffawed. He only shut his mouth when Damon narrowed his own eyes at him. Will tried not to crack into a mocking smile. Instead, he cleared his throat. Formal or informal is the real question here. Eh, fuck it. " _Wie heißen Sie_?" he asked gently.

Dipper looked at him, blankly. "What did you just ask me?"

"How are you cal- er, what's your name?" Will repeated, in English this time. He nearly slurred his words.

"Uh...Dipper?" Dipper responded, as if he was unaware of his own name as well.

Will shook his head. "Try saying, ' _Mein name ist Dipper Pines_ '," Will offered. 

Dipper repeated after him, despite his pronunciation sounded a little...American, for Will's taste. "After you introduce yourself, I want you to-"

"Oh my God, this is going to take forever," Damon moaned.

"I said to keep biting your lip until it bleeds if necessary, American!" Will scolded.

"That accent," Dipper snickered.

"As if you could do any better, Pines."

"That's low, even by your standards."

"Do you think I even _have_ standards?"

"Get _on_ with it!" Damon complained, completely ignoring the glares Will kept throwing his way. 

"Hey Dipper, what basketball player likes to read?" He didn't give Dipper a chance to reply before he guffawed out, " _Libro_ James!"

"THAT'S NOT EVEN GERMAN!" Damon argued.

"Did I _say_ it was in German, Damon?" Will blatantly pointed out. 

"What does Libras have to do with books?" Dipper asked, incredulous.

"Well, you see, Dipper-"

"I'm going to drag the three of us back to the Shack if you don't stop talking, William. I'm serious," Damon threatened.

"Oh, so you _do_ care about me!" Will gasped, putting a hand over his heart.

"Barely!" Damon snapped. "If I had the choice, I would've thrown you out of my car and run you over with-"

"Okay, you two can cut it out!" Dipper said hurriedly, shoving the dropped apple on the ground in Damon's mouth without even looking. Damon's brows raised in surprise. Dipper paid him no heed, turning his attention to William instead. "You know, if you teach me some more in the near future without my boyfriend constantly telling us to shut up-" Dipper gave that mentioned person a sideways look, "-I could teach you something else in return?"

"How to summon the dead?" Will asked, almost excitedly.

Dipper winced. "I'd prefer not to," Dipper grinned sheepishly. "I was thinking something along the lines of math. Wendy told me you didn't no jack shit on how to use the cash register."

Will wrinkled his nose. "We live on a floating rock in a giant void of holographic space, and you want me to learn how to multiply _numbers_?"

 "Gee, if you put it that way, Will-" Damon said sarcastically, the apple clutched in his hand. Dipper elbowed him him hard, nearly knocking the poor guy over to wheeze.

"You don't have to do that," Will assured him, ignoring Damon's comment. "I want to teach you, anyway. I never taught anyone before. It might be good for me"

"I wonder why," Damon said, yet again, in that sarcastic tone of his.

"Got something to say, Greaser?" Will shot.

"Well, it looks like to me you only want to teach Dipper because you got a thing for him," Damon shot back.

"And what if I just want to teach someone, huh? Unlike you, I got knowledge to share for eons," Will said snidely.

Damon made a face. The tension in the room was already high enough as it is. "Fine, teach me a phrase," Damon challenged.

" _Je suis une pomme de terre,_ " Will says breezily. 

" _Je suis une po-_ wait. That's not- that's French!" Damon sputtered. 

"You said teach you a phrase, but you didn't say it should be in German," Will said giddily. Dipper looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter. "And hey, French is the language of love! What do you have against that, lover boy?"

"Because I _am_ French!" Damon argued. "My mom was a Parisian. My dad was from here. Honestly, you bigoted German, don't you think-"

"That could explain why you're so rude," Will snapped.

"Fine," Damon seethed. "If you're so great, go ahead and teach my boyfriend some French."

" _Je ne sais pas_ ," Will grinned.

"Oh, _you are going to-_ " Damon snarled, getting up from his position to what Will assumed was his way to intimidate him. Dipper smacked a hand across his forehead in slight embarrassment, dragging his boyfriend's butt down to the floor like an exhausted parent by tugging him with the end of his shirt. Damon went down with an "oof" of surprise. 

That's when Will started laughing at the confused face Damon made after, Dipper joining in a couple seconds later. Damon only sat there, sulking and giving Will the stinkiest of eyes known to mankind. Will's stomach was starting to hurt.

"Oho," one of the daycare workers whistled. Their heads snapped up simultaneously. "A German and a French walk into a bar. They don't order, but they fight over the American."

"They're not fighting over me!" Dipper sputtered weakly, his face redder than a tomato. He wasn't laughing anymore.

"Yes, _we are_!" Damon and Will snapped at the same time.

"Oh my _God_." Dipper hid his face in his hands.

Damon and Will looked up at each other, glaring at one another as if to say, _See? You made him cry, you big jerk!_

"He's hiding his face because he saw yours," Damon told him.

"Mine? That's a compliment. He's hiding his face because he just realized he's stuck with _you,_ " Will said back.

"I'm hiding my face because both of you are giving me legit _headaches_!" Dipper moaned. He raised his head to look at them. He squinted, as if he really _were_ having headaches. "My head actually does kinda hurt though," he said.

Damon suddenly looked alarmed. "What happened?" he demanded. "Did it just happen now? Did something trigger it? Do you need me to take you home, to the hospital, to your Grunkle Ford? I heard he has something for-"

"Yeah, yeah, he does," Dipper said tiredly. "I have it somewhere in my pocket. But it's going to make me a little sleepy for half an hour or so. I don't...wanna leave here yet."

"Are you sure? I could take you to the-" Damon said with a frown.

"I'm sure," Dipper assured him. Will was only a spectator to their conversation. "You and Will should go play with the kids on the playground. I heard they were going to play freeze tag a couple minutes ago. I'll just...go lie down on one of the benches or something." He mumbled his last sentence, standing up to do just that.

He almost collapsed, Damon taking hold on his pant leg to hold him steady with a worried look on his face. Dipper saw that, and his face softened. Will was forced to watch him bend down to Damon's face. They kissed, just for a brief moment, before Dipper bid him goodbye and walked off.

Will didn't realize he was chewing on the inside of his cheek until he felt the familiar spurt of blood and bruises. He let go with his teeth, but it did nothing to settle the jealousy in his stomach.

That should've been him. It should've been him who Dipper was kissing, and touching, and saying "I love you" to, and...

Damon's eyes stopped being gentle the moment Dipper had turned their back on them. They settled on Will, looking as hostile as they ever were. Will just didn't realize until Damon had spoke. "You know he's never going to love you," Damon snapped, "right?"

"What makes you think I came here just to force him to love me?" Will snapped back.

"Why else would you come here?" Damon said quietly. "You want to hurt him again to finish what you started, haven't you? Everything is going right with him and you want to break him again. You don't want him fixed."

"What makes you think I'd ever fucking want _that_?!" he snarled. That was the literal opposite of what he wanted. More than anything in the world he wanted to see Dipper stitched back together- even if that meant breaking himself apart.

"And why wouldn't you?" Damon asked him calmly. "I thought you had good intentions when you first got together with him, and we were all fucking fooled when- _surprise_! Bill Cipher doesn't know how to love!" he said sarcastically.

"I do," Will argued. Weakly. "I don't- I don't know how to _show_ it, but I do."

"Oh, that's rich of you," Damon laughed. "I don't know about your situation as well as the other would, but I know you need my Dipper for something."

"He's not yours," Will hissed.

"Because he belongs to _you_?" Damon guessed, hostilely. 

"No," Will said hotly, "he belongs to no one but himself. None of us gets to dictate his life."

"But you did two years ago, didn't you?" Damon asked him, almost innocently so.

Will suddenly grew quiet. "Yeah," he finally said. Damon raised an eyebrow at his sudden declare of defeat. "I did. Because I didn't want to do anything with him and I just thought I wanted everything to be over with. But I don't want that anymore."

"You don't?" Damon looked like he was going to burst out laughing from the absurdity of his words. "Even watching the collapse and rise of nations can't change the devil's heart, Will."

"Then don't believe me. But everything I said is the brutal truth, Damon." He was starting to chew on the inside of his sore cheek again. 

"Fine, you love him," Damon spat. "But do you honestly think _he_ would love you back? You know he's smarter than that. He's smarter than to know to get together with the demon who _murdered his sister_."

Will, with everything in him, tried his best not to get up and strangle the guy. "He doesn't know that," he responded. Stiffly and calmly, like the mention of Mabel did nothing to him.

It only made him more demonic-like in Damon's eyes. "But he's going to," Damon said. "His Grunkle Ford- didn't he tell you? Just a couple more months, a year at most, then Dipper is going to remember absolutely everything you've done to him without the consequences of breaking down. And when he does, he's not going to even bother calling you William anymore. He'll call you a demon, a _tyrant,_ because that's all you're good for."

"I don't want you near my kids," he suddenly said. Damon locked his jaw. "Don't look at them, don't talk to them, _don't even think about them._ If I hear you were with them even by chance, I swear to you that I will do so much worst than bite off your two fingers and make you choke on your own blood," he said softly.

Damon's eyes narrowed. " _What_ kids?"

"The twins," Will snapped. "JJ. Every single kid on this block. In fact, I think it's best if you leave right now before I force you _out_." He snapped the last word like it was poison on his tongue.

"Fine. Maybe I will," Damon snapped back. "As long as you make a deal with me."

Will didn't answer. Damon took his silence as a yes. Or at least a cue to forge on.

"I'll do exactly what you asked. I'll stay clear away from all your 'kids'. I won't even talk to them unless you tell me I have to."

"And your price?" No one on this planet would ever think of making such a deal without a costly price. And he knew that from firsthand experience.

"Stay away from him," he said quietly. His eyes bore into Will, fixed and unmoving like he was watching to see if Will would flinch, if he would make any move that would indicate his motives and blatant lies. "Stay the _fuck_ away from him. I don't want you to ignore him- even doing something like that could raise a flag for him."

"Then what do you want me to do? Tell him, 'Hey, I'm really sorry, but I changed my mind about wanting to seduce you'?" Will said sarcastically.

"No. I don't want you touching him without his consent," Damon said, his voice just above a whisper. "You can't kiss him. You can't _touch_ him until he says so. That way, any move he makes, any kiss or hug or endearment, will be all on _him._ Dipper said that kiss was because of you, and I want to believe him, I really do, but I need..." He trailed off, his words thinning out with each waver. He cleared his throat.

"I need to make sure," he said firmly. Damon met his eyes again. "I need to make sure all of that was true."

"So you don't want me doing anything to him without his consent?"

A firm nod.

"To know that if he ever kissed me again, or embraced me, or-" He almost cracked, "- _bedded_ me, you would know that he _chose_ for that to happen, not because I forced him to?"

"If your head was any thicker, you'd-" Damon scowled.

"Alright, _alright_. I heard you the first time." Will stuck out his hand. "I'll hold up my end of your deal if you do the same."

Damon only stared at him. "I'm not kidding about the deal, _Bill,_ " Damon murmured. It took everything in William not to flinch. "Where's your stupid fire? I said I wanted a _real_ deal."

Will's face darkened. "You're making a deal with the devil here," he whispered.

"I know I am," Damon gritted out. "You know what happens when you break a demon's promise, don't you?"

"If I don't do as you asked, I'd burn up," Will answered simply. "Poof. Up in smoke like your hopes and dreams. When _you_ don't do as _I_ asked-"

"-the same thing happens to me," Damon finished. He rolled his eyes. "I've lived through your stupid Weirdmageddon. You think someone like me wouldn't have known that already. So, what about it- are you scared? Just shake my hand already!"

Will tasted blood in his mouth. Metallic, bitter blood. His hand curled with a misty blue. Not the flames of his former deals, not even close. But a deal was a deal, and just a little bit of magic was enough for this to work.

Damon clasped his hand with his, giving their gripped hands a solid shake before letting it sit, engulfed in miniature flames that licked up from their fingertips to their wrists. They let go on the count of five, when their bodies warmed and their minds were implanted with the deal that they must hold up- unless they wanted to die.

No touch or kiss would come to Dipper Pines without the boy's permission. William had no intent on doing any harm to his sweet Dipper, anyway.

He had plans for things much, much worst.

It was only fair for him to be so patient, wasn't it? It's been weeks, and he hadn't gotten far with the stupid human, other than a failed kiss that went down in flames. He deserved so much more, for being this tolerant and forgiving. Did he not?

The voices in his head hissed their agreement.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Looks out into the distance* When will things look up for our demonic overlord and savior? Maybe forcing is the last option you're thinking about, eh, Will? Like ra-
> 
> jk jk please don't kill me ;-;. Next chapter is 75% actual fluff, I promise. Involves Dipper's pancakes and cuddling (/^▽^)/.


	18. "Why is your heart beating so fast, William?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. It is I. I am alive. Just barely :D~
> 
> Meanwhile, here I am, being a bad writer for not keeping up with schedules D:. Anyway, you have my friends to thank for updating after eons. They all got me out of my writing slump and told me to just- DO. IT. So here I am. Comments are deeply appreciated and will be hung on my wall (No seriously, I have comments on my fics on my damn wall for motivation) ヾ(≧∇≦*)ゝ. (Is that a dab emoticon omg).
> 
> I should really hire a motivator for writing. You know, like Shia LaBeouf on steroids.

_"This deep sigh coiled around my chest_  
_Intoxicated by a major chord_  
_I wonder_  
_Do I love you or the thought of you?_  
_Slow, love, slow_  
_Only the weak are not lonely."_

**[Slow, Love, Slow | Nightwish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElbyDZYeAzU) **

* * *

"Will? William?" a voice coaxed. Soft and hushed, like hot chocolate on a warm winter's night. "Please don't cry. You know I don't like when you cry."

Then a soft chuckle, one that sounded both sardonic and subdued. "There are a lot of things you don't like in this world. Nothing seems to go your way in your opinion. You're like a baby."

The ruffling of silky sheets, then the patter of rain against a window came into crisp hearing like a radio tuned to the right station. He suddenly could smell the biting chill of the air, tickling his nose in the strangest of ways. The tips of his fingers felt numb, his whole body shivering to the touch. Yet with all his senses zeroed in like a hunter on the move, he could not see.

All was darkness, and his only light was the voice that spoke like speaking too loudly was a curse.

"Then I'll _act_ like a baby as long as you do the same," that same voice huffed. "What's even making you cry this time? You're safe here. I am too." Then he laughed, like Will had told him the funniest joke in the world. "If someone had told me the love of my life would even shed a single _tear_  from something other than laughing a little too hard _,_ I would've..."

And that did it for him. "Do you think you'll still call me that if I didn't tell you about what happened?" He could've sworn he heard himself sniffle. It was odd, since he couldn't detect any lump in his throat or prickling in his tears that signified himself crying. "...do you even think you would've laid on this bed with me?"

Was this actually him, or an alternate dimension where he was the biggest crybaby in the world?

A short pause, like a skipped heartbeat in the chest of a lovestruck man. Then the bed sheets moved, the springs creaked under a shifting weight, and Will suddenly felt like someone was staring at him, observing the frowns and sniffles he made with each inhale of breath. It should've made him feel naked. But somehow, it didn't. It made him feel...warm inside. Particularly in the chest. He didn't know why.

"Is that what you were sad about all that?" He sighed, sounding more depressed than annoyed. "Will, that was so long ago. I'm not going anywhere."

"Even if I wiped away your feelings for me again?"

Warm fingers wrapped around his frozen ones, giving Will's hand a light squeeze under their thick blanket. "You never took them away. You just took away my memories of you."

Will loosened a deep sigh, one that ached his chest as badly as the hole in it. "If I could...just...have more time to get those memories back, none of this..."

"Just go back to sleep," the voice hushed. "We can figure it out in the morning. Right now, you can just hold me and rest for once in your life."

"But I don't want to sleep," Will whined. But even then, he felt a warm body press against his chest, his arms coming around the scrawny figure like a fly trap. It felt way too natural for him to complain too much. "I just want to kiss you and tell you I love you and make you mine forever and..."

His companion laughed. "The last part has been accomplished for years, William." He shimmied closer to Will, moving his head so he could kiss the underside of Will's jaw. "There's your kiss." A short beat, then Dipper spoke again, softer and lovingly. Each word was only filled with the kind of warmness Will felt in his chest.

"And I love you too. Just so you know."

Will felt himself dip his head, just slightly so his lips could press against a warm, bumpy forehead. "There is no way in seventy trillion dimensions I could be this fortunate to have you again, Dipper."

"Then say that you're fortunate to have me on this dimension," Dipper said simply. "Now get to sleep, you whiny baby. I have double prep tomorrow."

"Only if you promise me one thing," he said in seriousness.

"And what's that?"

"You won't leave me when I wake up," Will mumbled against his hair.

A second flew by to the beat of his heart. Then two. Then five. Then fifteen. Each second made his heart thump harder, wilder, more panicked. He thought Dipper had finally fallen asleep by the first minute, until he felt his lover shift against his chest. Not to move away, but to get closer, as humanly possible. Like he was scared of losing William as well.

"I won't," Dipper promised. Solemn and quiet. Fingers curled in Will's loose damp shirt, drawing him close. "And if I do, I'll come back to you. It was always you to begin with. Even if it didn't seem like it before."

"You love me that much?" Will asked him in doubt. He had no choice but to ask.

"Of course." Dipper pressed a tender kiss to his forehead.

"Even if my heart stops beating and yours slows down."

* * *

 ****"How is he?" A door slammed, louder than what anyone hoped for it to be. "Grunkle Ford, I came here as soon as I got your call, but the traffic today was hellish. God, if I came here sooner-"

"It's okay, Dipper," Ford soothed. "There's nothing wrong with him yet. Actually, his brainwaves have been more active than they were last night."

A beep cut through the air like a shiny new knife. None of the two men seemed to notice, leaving Will to adjust to his surroundings groggily. He still couldn't see. Nothing but darkness after darkness was all he could nab in his vision. Unlike before, he also felt restrained. As if something was holding him down like some experiment to play with.

The beep drew on, before another one pierced through his ears the next second after. Then another, and another- until it became clear it was a heart monitor.

A slow, diminished one at that.

"-Shack? I haven't been able to visit that much because of work," Dipper said, sounding mildly out of breath.

"If something major happened to William, you would be the first one I'd call," Ford promised. "But for now, I'm afraid nothing has been happening to your friend. I don't know if I'd consider it a blessing or a curse..."

"Are you sure?" Dipper asked uncertainly. He sounded exactly like the paranoid little boy he used to be as a twelve year old. Gone was the half-confident twenty year old. He sounded like on the verge of a breakdown. "There's no chance he'd stay like that forever, right? What is he even feeling right now? Can he hear us? Will he even  _remember_ us when he wakes up? What if-?"

"Dipper, my boy, first you need to calm down," Ford consoled. "He's going to wake up soon, I could feel it. Have I ever lied to you? He'll wake up, greet us, and-"

"Yes!" Dipper snapped.

"Yes...what...?"

"Yes, you've lied to me before!" Dipper snapped. "You don't think I'd fall for 'Oh, I'm just checking on your brain for no absolute reason'?! I know you're hiding something from me, but none of that concerns me right now! Or _ever_! Right now, you need to tell me what the hell is wrong with William-"

" _Dipper_!" Ford interrupted. " _Nothing_ is wrong with William. You just need to give him more time. I don't know how long that would be but I'd never lie to you if this concerns both your safety and this _family's._ What happened to him isn't something we could just brush off, but it's not something to go ballistic over."

He completely ignored what Dipper said.

"But what if he never wakes up?" Dipper said in a hushed tone. "What if- what if _does,_ but can't even remember me?"

"Well, that wouldn't be a problem, wouldn't it?" Ford answered breezily, yet bemused. Like he couldn't understand why his grandnephew would worry over such things. "You could just explain the situation to him. Tell him you're his friend."

"But he wouldn't remember me."

Ford paused over his words, rolling it around his metal-plated head. "No," he admitted. "Of course he wouldn't. But amnesia isn't the same as emotions. If he thought of you as a friend, he will still think of you the same way when he sees you again."

Silence. Nothing but silence took up the room. Not even the heart monitor seemed to come into focus. All William could feel right now was the numb, cold clutch in his heart, the ache that resided there for weeks. Weeks that he spent watching his emotions spiral out of control more and more, because of one person who didn't even notice it.

"I just..." Dipper whispered. He swallowed down the shakiness in his voice, seeming to compose himself in front of his old idol. It didn't work, and his quiet words were on the brink of chest-breaking sobs. "I...I don't want him to forget me."

"Dipper," Ford said solemnly. "He's not going to forget you."

"How- how could you be so sure?" Dipper challenged.

Even without seeing, Will could tell that Ford was biting down on his tongue so hard that blood could be present. It took him a while to swallow the bitter taste and respond to his grandnephew. 

"His state of mind is as intact as it could get," Ford said. "Mentally and emotionally, William is stable. But physically..."

"He's not going to lose a limb or anything, right?" Dipper asked. "Not like what happened to me with my eye and...?"

"No," he replied simply. "The blast forced his brain to go into a comatose state. That's all.  I will monitor him twenty-four-seven to make sure that's truly all that's happening to him. You know this. But it's not going to help if you shout and scream at me to pry his eyes open."

"I'm not shouting and screaming," Dipper muttered. Will could almost imagine him toeing the floor as he looked down like a little kid. "You worried me- when you said you had to tell me something as soon as possible, I mean. So what was it anyway, Grunkle Ford?"

"Dipper..." He sounded exactly as how a doctor would sound when they had bad news to bare.

* * *

 ****And darkness was all he sought out.

He heard nothing but the ringing in his ears and felt nothing but the cool air around him. Drifting was a phrase that could be used right now, if used in the right way. But drifting was a word that was too nice to describe everything he was feeling.

Instead, he felt as if he was free falling.

The type that got a person's adrenaline levels to kick through the roofs. The type that made people kick and scream and panic beyond everything else. The type that if they didn't act quick enough, they will splat across the ground and cease to exist.

But with William, he felt as if _everything_ was about to cease to exist.

 _It was a dream, it was a dream, it was a stupid dream,_ he kept chanting to himself. Or fantasies, more like it. But still, it was a dream that should've never happened and never should've even been thought about. Yet it happened, and William had no idea why.

He can't have dreams. Some weird ones here and there, sure, but not _dreams_ dreams. If that made any sense. Vivid images of weird infused dogs and waffles were the type of things his mind would conjure on a daily basis, if he wasn't stuck in Mabel's mindscape. Weird, bizarre fantasies.

They weren't supposed to be like that. He wasn't supposed to _feel_ as if they were real. He wasn't supposed to dream so realistically and achingly that he had to take a couple seconds upon waking up and say to himself that everything was just fantasy. Nothing else.

But it didn't _feel_ fake. It didn't _feel_ like he got tricked into a fantasy-fulfilling dream. It felt way too real for that. Like it was déjà vu, or something that was going to happen in the future.

At least, he hoped it was in the future.

 _The next time I'm getting those dreams again, I'm going to sleep with a hammer beside me,_ Will gritted his teeth. He scratched his hair, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he pulled himself to an upright position on his bed. The sun still wasn't up in the horizon.

Good. He could get a cup of coffee and sneak back into his room before Stanley could start pestering him about money.

Will cracked his neck to his side, muscles relaxing just as a crack signified a successful stretch. He pulled the covers off himself, nearly cringing when he nearly stepped on the tail of his precious dog, who was sleeping at the very foot of his bed soundlessly. The stupid dog had dragged its dog bed all the way next to William's, bringing even her water bowl with it. 

Will patted her head affectionately, stifling a yawn that nearly tore through. He rubbed the back of his sore neck, looking down at his dog with pressed lips while he petted the poor thing. Every muscle in his body felt sore to the very bone, like someone had dragged Will from his bed during the night to hit him against the wall until sunrise.

Which, considering how much Damon was steadily hating him more and more, wasn't a very far-fetched possibility.

He sat there on the edge of his bed, absentmindedly petting his dog with a thousand thoughts racing through his weak mind. Like how it was possible to dream so vividly like that. Or what that second dream meant. Or why he couldn't see in any of the two. Or when the _hell_ those visions were supposed to take place.

Or, mostly, why his room smelled strongly of pancakes and blueberries.

"You didn't steal any pancakes and hid them under my bed, did you?" Will muttered, directing the question to his happily sleeping dog. With a smell that strong, he was sure that Little Bear would bolt right up and find the source of it until she dropped dead on the floor. Yet here was his dog, sleeping like a bulldozer with saliva hanging out of her mouth to prove her comfort.

Will snorted, retracting his hand away from her furry little head. "Of course you didn't. You don't have any opposable thumbs." He thought for a while, scratching the bottom of his chin. "Or the brains, for that matter. Heh."

As if hearing his insult from a mile away, his dog opened an eye, seeming to glare at him for a quick second before shifting in her comfy little dog bed, going back to sleep.

Grunting, Will got off his bed with his hands on his knees for support, dropping to his belly to check the underside of the mattress. Fortunately, the only thing under his bed was a half-eaten bone that looked suspiciously like a pterodactyl's, and gray dust bunnies. He nearly sneezed, instead rubbing his nose from the itch it gave him for ducking his head inside.

"Welp, you're a lady with a spotless criminal record, I see," Will grumbled, pushing himself back up to his feet, not before he patted the back of his dog's behind. "Not counting your little episodes with that cat, of course. What are ya, Tom from Tom and Jerry?"

Little Bear made a low growling noise at him, in which he held up his hands in defense. "Yeesh. The day's just beginning and you're grouchier than Dipper without his third round of coffee."

He yawned this time, feeling the drowsiness catching up to him faster than the Black Death can in Europe. Toeing his dog slightly to catch her attention, Will mumbled, "I'm going to get some pancakes and get you some later. You keep...doing whatever you were doing. Sleeping. Yeah, sleeping. I kinda wanna sleep too now..."

Fed up with William's zombie-like behavior, Little Bear glared back at him, coming up to her feet before marching away downstairs with her nose stuck in the air. Will only rolled his eyes, coming down the stairs to follow her. The smell of pancakes outnumbered his fantasy of sleep.

Stumbling like a drunkard down the halls, Will came into the kitchen with one hand against the wall like it was the only thing that could hold him up for the moment. The cheery voices got louder with each step he made into the kitchen, and he couldn't wait to finally drop down in one of the chairs and have pancakes spooned into his mouth.

As soon as his first foot entered the kitchen, those voices stopped and faded away. Will hardly noticed, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he drunkenly pulled out a random chair and plopped himself on it. 

"Pancakes," he slurred, feeling as drunk as he sounded. That bed seemed to be better and better the more he stayed awake. He held a finger up, dropping his head to the table. "I want... _pancakes._ "

"First of all," a voice chimed in. "You sound like Grunkle Stan after his eighteenth shot of alcohol. But I'm glad to see you're back from the dead, Will."

"I'm not. I want him still dead," grumbled another voice, followed by a thwack and an, " _Ow_! I was  _kidding_!"

"Anyway," Dipper continued on breezily. There was a sound of a stove being turned off, accompanied by the scraping of a pan and a plop of food being thrown onto a plate. "How many pancakes do you want?"

"One- no- two! No, no!" He swore he heard himself hiccup. " _Seven_!"

"Will, I only made four."

"Then _four,_ duh, Dipper!" Will lifted his head from the table, blinking against the kitchen lights. 

"Hey!" Damon whined. The idiot was sitting across from him, his stupid old hat out of sight. "How come he can have all the pancakes? You were making them for _me_!"

Dipper only snickered, placing the stack of buttered, syrup drizzled pancakes in front of Will, the utensils being served right after. Damon tried to pull the plate to the other side of the table where he was, only to be punished with a thwack across the knuckles with a spatula. "OW!"

"Those are for _William_ ," Dipper emphasized, pointing his spatula from a pouting Damon to a grinning Will, who had already stuffed half a pancake in his mouth. 

"Fine, _mom,_ " Damon said with a roll of his eyes. He rubbed his sore knuckles. "No mother hits their child with a fucking spatula..." he grumbled.

"And since you appointed me to 'Mother', I'm going to hit you again for swearing." Dipper, soon after, hit Damon behind the neck with the same spatula.

"Quit it!" Damon whined. "This is child abuse!"

"I was going to retort against you for saying that, but your boyfriend made some really good pancakes, so you're good for now," Will chortled, words muffled by the pancake shoved into his mouth unceremoniously.

Instead of glowering at Will, Damon had snorted instead, still rubbing his knuckles. "Is there _anything_ my boyfriend can't do?"

"Awww, how sweet of you," Dipper teased, pressing a kiss to Damon's cheek. Only Damon had turned his head last minute, capturing Dipper's lips in his. Then a second later, the both of them started giggling like little kids.

Will tried his best not to gag or make a face. Swallowing the pancake, letting it slide down his throat a little harder than usual, Will cleared his throat to stop them from making anymore fits of laughter. The two lovebirds looked over at him, clearly oblivious as to why he looked like he witnessed Soos making out with a taco. At least, Dipper did. Damon was smirking at him.

"How rude of me to come down here just to ask for pancakes, hmm?" he said sweetly. He turned to look at Damon. "So, Mr. Greaser Bad Boy Supreme, how's your morning?"

A little taken aback, but not enough not to sneer at Will, Damon blinked. "Well, it didn't go that well. I got a doctor's appointment tomorrow and they think I might have to amputate my other fingers to-"

"Great, you don't need you to have a middle finger to know how much of an asshole you are," Will interrupted, sounding just as sweet as he did when he first asked how Damon was.

Dipper guffawed, closing his mouth shut tight when Damon shot him a look. Not breaking a sweat, Will turned to look at the maker of the mouthwatering pancakes. "And how about you, Dipper?"

"What about me?"

"How's your morning going?" He asked it as genuinely as he could. 

But instead of giving him a one word response, Dipper gave him an odd look. "What?" Will asked, mouth full of his second pancake.

"Chew first before you talk," Dipper said gently.

Will did for a couple seconds, before flashing the brunet the thumbs up. "Thanks for the reminder, mom," he grinned. Damon snickered, the only time he ever agreed with William's jokes. "Also hey, what time is it, mom?"

"Stop calling me that. As if I would be dumb enough to have you for a child." Dipper only rolled his eyes at their annoying behavior. "Anyway, it's nine o'clock, William."

"AM?" He tilted his head slightly to the side, already cutting up his third pancake. "I thought your substitute class didn't start until eleven, Dipper?"

"It does," Dipper agreed. "Eleven AM. But it's nine  _PM,_ Will."

He paused, knitting his brow together in confusion. He looked up from his pancakes. "At night?" He watched Dipper's face for any sign of sarcasm, but there was nothing there but solemness. "But the sun isn't..."

"...up because it went _down._ " Dipper raised an eyebrow at him, partially in concern and partially in disbelief. "Must've been quite the nap for you, huh?"

"You could say that," he said hesitantly. Was it seriously that long? He had a pretty good perception of time there- he _was_ a dream demon, anyway. There was no way those dreams could take that long. And then there was the problem of it being so... _real,_ at the moment.

The thing about having dreams were this; you get a dream. Nightmare, the sweetest of dreams, or just one bumpy ride of a weird one- it doesn't matter. The moment a person wakes up, they are to forget more than half of their dreams -whether they realize it or not- the moment they wake up. But that's not how it worked for him.

He remembered, every single detail, like he was actually there, and that wasn't- that shouldn't-

"William?" Dipper coaxed. "You look like you need to lie down. You can go back upstairs if you want-"

"Fine. I'm fine," Will mumbled, waving a hand in dismissal. "Just got a little dizzy for a moment."

Dipper only frowned.

"Any idea why you slept for so long?" Damon butted in. He propped his feet up to the table, and only now did Will realize that he was sipping on a mug of coffee, a bottle of blue pills right in front of him. Will's eyes narrowed. "I was almost half convinced you died. Can't say if I was particularly sad about that."

"No. I felt like I slept normally throughout the whole night, actually," he said, refusing to bicker so late into the night with Damon. It would only make things worst for his headache. Though he did make a face at the other man, who in turn simply jeered at him.

Dipper pulled up a chair beside his boyfriend, the demeanor in the kitchen twice as solemn as it was before. But maybe that was only Will. "Do you feel different at all? Headaches? Stomach pain? Extreme drowsiness?" he asked in concern, sounding more like a doctor than a friend.

"A slight headache and my drowsiness will go away in a few minutes. You know, the usual." He shrugged, trying to show Dipper that no, he was not going to suddenly drop dead and go into a two year coma. He looked between Dipper and Damon, watching their faces carefully. Now that any interesting topic had been suctioned out of the air, the both of them looked like they watched the Human Centipede on repeat for the last few hours.

"The both of you were talking when I was gone," Will said slowly. He put down his utensils. "What were you talking about?"

"New Mystery Shack attractions," Dipper answered immediately.

Will would've believed him off the bat if it weren't for the fact that Damon had answered, at the same time as Dipper, "Where to go for dinner tonight."

The pair looked at each other, equal looks of annoyance on their faces for their off-timing of words. Will dropped in another piece of pancake in his mouth, raising an eyebrow at them curiously. "Well, well, well. _One of you_ has got to be lying to me," he crooned.

"I wasn't." Damon scowled, just by a bit. He placed his mug on the table carefully, brow knitted together when he looked over at Dipper. "Do you seriously think we'd talk about getting new tourist attractions when the Shack is already booming with business?"

"But you know Grunkle Stan wants more until the shop becomes the first thing to pop up on Google!" Dipper said in exasperation. "C'mon, _where to go for dinner_? It's always frozen pizza pops or leftover lasagna when we're lucky!"

"Well excuse me, you never know if I want to treat out my boyfriend for being so rude to him these past few days!" Damon argued back. "What kind of person do you take me for, a bipolar dick?" he added jokingly.

Dipper's jaw closed shut. "You wanted to treat me out?"

Damon smiled a little wistfully, stretching forward and taking his mug back in his hand to take a careful sip. "From your reaction, I'm guessing you never even bothered to realize I asked your boss to take a day off from your schedule tomorrow."

Will was honestly this close to getting up and faceplanting his pillow to sleep again.

In fact, he didn't even realize he was glowering at Damon's mug so hard that it started to boil again. When Damon had tried to take a tentative sip while Dipper blabbered on about how great he was, he reeled back a moment later with a red upper lip, a swear word cutting out from in between his teeth.

"Damon, you should put down your coffee," Dipper warned, a finger pointing out the steam and bubbles coming from the white mug. 

"You think I don't know that?" Damon grimaced, gingerly touching his red lip as soon as he brought the mug down to the table. He swung his feet off as well, leaning forward towards Dipper with pain still etched across his face. "Is my lip swelling?"

"It's not too bad," Dipper cooed, wrapping his fingers around Damon's wrist to coax him to put it down. When Damon did, he simply put a finger on the clearly swollen part of the lip, massaging it gently. 

"It hurts," Damon whined.

"What, do you want me to kiss it better?" Dipper joked.

Damon only grinned at him.

Before Dipper could make a big show of doing exactly what his boyfriend wanted, Will dropped his fork to the ground, letting in clang a few times to get their attention before smiling sheepishly at the couple. "My bad," he apologized, right before plunging down to the ground and taking up the dropped utensil and bringing it back up to his own clean plate.

"What a shame for you to be burnt, right, Damon?" Will said, overly sweetly.  He propped his chin on his propped hand, looking at the two expectantly for an answer.

"Yeah," Damon answered hesitantly. With the way the guy was looking at him, Will could tell if he was trying to guess if his mug suddenly getting hot was his doing. "Really weird how it just boiled up like that. It's like _magic._ " He put an empathize on 'magic', eyes narrowing when he did so as well.

"Sure is. We live in Gravity Falls, what's your point?" Will snickered. "So, spit it out, lovebirds. What were you talking about while I was in a pre-coma?"

Dipper and Damon glanced at each other, looks of uncertainty on their faces. Exactly what William expected. But he clearly didn't expect Damon to be the first one of them to answer with confidence.

"Dipper's Great Uncle Ford was doing Dipper's daily scans in the basement. You know, to check if he was still on track with everything and whatnot," he replied nonchalantly, like confessing something embarrassing (It seemed, from how offended Dipper suddenly looked) was not a problem. Damon quirked an eyebrow, as if to challenge Will. "He said you were down there before."

"And what if I was?" Will challenged right back. With no more pancakes to shovel into his mouth as a distraction (despite the hunger still manifesting in his stomach), Will sat back, completely at ease. "I live here, in case you didn't notice- and from how extraordinarily small your brain is, it's not really a surprise. What do you expect me to do all day, not talk with the only people who live in this very home of mine?"

"This is not your house," Damon snapped. "This is a place you're staying in for a while because you helped my boyfriend and we all felt bad for you."

"Damon..." Dipper warned.

Will shrugged. "Okay, sure. Whatever rocks your boat, Damon." He copied Damon's facial features, quirking his eyebrow in the same questioning way and curled his lip in the same disgusted manner. "And hey, even though I'm just 'staying' here, clearly my presence goes completely noticed, if you guys talk about me and Stanford bonding over some formulas your own brain can't even comprehend like it's some scandalous breach of treason."

It was fun, seeing Damon's face shift from slight disgust and neutrality to complete irritated anger. The only reason why the guy hadn't full-on lashed out at him was because of the brunet sitting next to him, who was looking between the two with a slightly displeased look. Will just couldn't tell who he was displeased _at._

"You've been having voices in your head, haven't you?"

Will's head sharply snapped up to look at him. "How did you know that?"

By the way Damon was now looking at him, Will could tell he had fallen right into the idiot's trap. "Stanford told us," was his only answer to William's question.

"I never told _anyone_ about that," Will snarled. "You-"

"He's not lying," Dipper chimed in, seeing the chagrin in the other's eyes. "My uncle is an observant man, even when it comes to you, Will. He told us you constantly look like you're talking to yourself, or..."

"So what?" Will said sharply. He could feel his muscles tensing. "What's so interesting about that, that you have to talk about it with your boyfriend?"

"Stanford wants you to take a brain scan like Dipper," Damon shrugged. "He wants to make sure you're not sick."

"Sick?" He barked out a laugh. "Why would I be _sick_?"

"Schizophrenia," Damon said without batting an eye. Dipper looked over at him sharply in warning, but he simply ignored the stares. "Dementia. Bipolar. Do you think hearing voices in your _head_ is something normal, William?"

"Of course not. But what do you want me to do, find a doctor and miraculously get better?" he asked sarcastically. "Even if Stanford finds out what's wrong with me, he can't do anything about it."

"Ford has twelve PhDs. He can do things that can help, Will. He might even cure-" Dipper spoke.

"Like he cured _you_?" Will snapped back.

When the room grew quiet and his muscles felt cold, Will finally shut his mouth. Dipper had his jaw clenched, lost for words. Damon looked like he wanted to come forward and skin him alive. Will probably wouldn't have stopped him.

"I'm...sorry," he said hesitantly. The word 'sorry' stuck to his throat like week old gum. "I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Dipper said quickly. "The only reason why we were talking about was because Damon thinks he knows why. We were just..."

"Worried about you," Damon finished for him. And, weirdly enough, he didn't sound like the words stung his mouth like he gurgled rat poison. Now that his mug had sat there for quite a while, he took it up again, hand shaking just slightly as he took a confident sip. He didn't snap away from the mug, screaming blood murder from how hot it was anymore. When he finished drinking his sip, he spoke again. Dipper kept looking down to the ground, seeming smaller and smaller the more Will stared at him anxiously.

"I...had a brother. He died two years ago."

Will didn't miss the glace Damon threw at Dipper's way. Yet Dipper didn't move a muscle.

"How did this room get so sober?" he asked with a chuckle. He shook his head, leaning a little more forward as if that would help him listen to Damon's stories even more. "So your brother died. Sorry for your loss, I hope he's resting in peace- yada, yada. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because he used to be into...dark things," Damon replied uncertainly. His eyes stayed on Dipper, who had his eyes on the ground in turn. "Dark magic. You know, the witchcraft kind of things. Creatures of the night, poisons, irreversible spells- you name it, he's into it. He told me it was a hobby, like Dipper was with Gravity Falls's supernatural barrier. Then I start hearing news about people killing people to open some sort of dimensional rift, but stronger than it was with Weirdmageddon and Bill Cipher-" Damon's eyes flickered over to him for a moment, "-and I found out he was one of them."

"The ones murdering people?" Will guessed.

"Yeah." Damon looked up at him. And for a second, they weren't staring at each other like different sides of a battlefield. "I told him I would tell the police and he shut me out. I didn't realize he got killed himself in a freak accident until I got called by Sheriff Blubs. A couple months ago."

"Damon brought me to his grave."

Will and Damon simultaneously looked over at him in surprise. Dipper only had eyes for Will, staring at him with an emptiness in his eyes that almost stopped him cold.

It was the same look Dipper gave him when they met each other after Mabel's death.

"Damon thinks...his brother wants revenge on him. I've done enough study on mindscapes to know it's plausible." Dipper shook his head once, and blinked. And the emptiness was gone, and so was Will's labored breathing.

"Then why me? I didn't do anything," Will said in genuine curiosity. Other than being a now-considered-dead dream demon who had terrorized several dimensions for trillions upon trillions of years, of course.

"You like Dipper, don't you?" Damon asked him. Before even giving him a chance to reel the question in his head, Damon added, "He might've found a host in you, William. To break off my relationship with Dipper and continue his work."

"That's the most positive way a person has ever talked about being possessed," Will chuckled. He leaned away from the pair, eyes coming to look over at Dipper. The brunet still had his eyes on the floor, fingers nervously playing with the hem of his shirt. His eyes were clouded over with thought, as they usually were.

It felt like forever for someone to talk again, even though it was clearly only a couple minutes. Damon kept sipping on his coffee, rubbing Dipper's back gently like the lover he should be. Dipper kept chewing on his bottom lip, seeming zoned out more than he normally was. And Will? Well, he just kept watching the movements Dipper made. He wanted to reach out, obviously he did, but it was insensible to do it now. But that didn't stop him from wishing things only a child could hope of.

It was Dipper who raised his head to look at them, to ask a hoarse question.

"Damon," he said quietly, "when did you say your brother died again?"

"Two years ago," Damon answered. He removed his hand from Dipper's back, the one that was making soothing circles to calm him down.

"You mean...around the time you started-?" Dipper cleared his throat, looking sideways at Will. Will frowned. "Do you think...he's also influencing _you_?"

Damon pursed his lips. "I didn't consider it. Until now. And I think...yes," he admitted.

Will narrowed his eyes at them, hands clenching and unclenching on his lap mindlessly. "What are you two talking about now?"

Damon only shook his head, shrugging carelessly. "When I get angry, I don't have control over myself." He said those words like he was describing the weather.

But Will could see right through them. "Like?" he pressed, voice tight. His heart raced in his chest, hands shaking quite badly. Weird, as he didn't _feel_ like he should be this nervous. Not when Damon seemed so casual and Dipper didn't look like he was about to have a breakdown. But he did, and he didn't know why.

"I do things," Damon snapped. "That's all you need to know."  

" _Things,_ isn't enough, Damon. What the hell did you _do_?" Will whispered. He could tell the tight calmness in his voice was scarier to them than it was when he exploded. He could see it in Dipper's eyes. But he didn't understand why the kid always seemed afraid when he was teetering anger, when he got any closer without warning or reason. At the zoo, when they bumped into each other, when Will raised his voice just a tad bit higher- it was like Dipper was raised to act that way and that shouldn't be with him. 

And while he seemed slightly afraid, and just a little bit wary, Dipper knew when to step up and when to back down.

"Will," Dipper whispered, "I'm asking you right now to promise me something. If I tell you, you have to promise me not to say anything, or _do_ anything-"

"Oh, I'll _do_ something, alright!" Will snarled. "Dipper, _what did he do_?" 

"He...threatens me sometimes," Dipper told him meekly. "He usually isn't himself when he's angry and he'd- try and teach me a lesson, but-"

"He _hit_ you?" Will asked in disbelief. His chest felt like it was on fire- blazing, white hot flames that seemed to grow bigger and bigger until his whole body was engulfed in them. He turned his cold gaze to Damon. "You fucking _hit_ him?!"

"Look, man, I don't like hitting Dipper, he's the world to me," Damon argued. His voice sounded weak, like the words were dying in his throat the more he forced himself to stare back at Will. "I- I'm not myself when I'm angry and usually I don't even _remember_ what happens the day after other than that I hurt him somehow, and I swear to _God_ it hurts me to even think-"

"You _hurt_ my Dipper and you sometimes you don't even remember it?!" Will roared. He took a step forward, causing Damon to take one step back. If he wasn't so angry and occupied with his mind telling him to kill him over and over, Will would've laughed at how little of a fight the other was putting up. "If he meant the world to you, then you would've never even done anything to hurt him in the first place! You would've made sure you told him you loved him every single day, you would've cared for him more than yourself, but instead you _HARM HIM_!" he screamed.

He didn't even realize that he had stood up until Damon had copied him, chair scraping painfully in his ears until they were towering over the table like they wanted to rip each other apart to nothing but bones and shredded skin. He swore he would've done things a hundred times worst to Damon, if it wasn't for Dipper.

"Will, he hurts me because he loves me!" 

The sudden outburst got their attention. And when they turned, they saw nothing but anger in Dipper's eyes. Gone was the emptiness and the timidness from before. He looked angry and irritated, eyes locked on William. Like he was angry that Will would bring this up. Angry and upset that Will would even _try._

And Will was angry right back. He wanted to laugh at his face, cruel and humorlessly.

"You deserve so much more than this, Dipper, don't you know that?" Will asked him, incredulous. He blinked back the rest of his angered tears. Funny, how he only cried when he was angry. Not sad. Or depressed. Or even frustrated. Not like how he should cry like he did in his dreams. "You should be waking up to someone telling you they love you. You should be loved the same way you love that person and yet you stay with _him_?"  

"I do, Will," Dipper said softly. "To the very first hour I wake up, Damon tells me he loves me. I hate PDA, have I told you that? He knows that and he makes sure I'm never uncomfortable. I have no reason to think he doesn't love me, Will. He hurts me because _I need it._ "

"You need it?" Will laughed humorlessly. "You need to be told everyday that you were worthless, and ugly, and stupid? You need to be hurt to function? That's not how you work, Dipper, and I know you."

"Then you don't know me enough," Dipper snapped. "And no, that's not what I meant."

 _I know you more than you know yourself,_ was his almost-reply. However, he kept his mouth shut tight, like opening it would just cause more trouble than there already was. And it probably would.

He heard the door slam, jolly voices that belonged to two old twins coming soon after.

And when Damon and Dipper had their heads turned, Will turned around and left.

Out the kitchen, then out the hallway, and up his room. If they were calling him to come back, he didn't hear it, and he didn't care. He wanted to run, run from where Dipper was as soon as possible. And yes it made him sound pathetic and stupid and ridiculous, but he couldn't stop it.

If he stayed any longer, he would've truly cried for the first time since he destroyed his own dimension.

So what did do? Ran away like a coward. 

Into his room, didn't care if the only thing he could see was the moon and the insignificant amount of light it gave, and crawled into his bed, sniffling and keeping everything in- just like a little kid, grounded and sent to his room for things he did not do.

He wrapped his blanket around himself, pulling his chest up to his knees and turned his body away from the rest of the world. His head rested against the wall of the attic, nose itching from the dust and the sudden dam of emotions. He was pathetic, and stupid, and completely useless. 

What was he supposed to do now? Now that he knew Dipper would chose an abusive, sadistic fool like Damon over _him_? And yeah, it made him sound like the ones who complained over being nice and still not being able to get the girl, but it was a genuine question. A question he didn't know the answer to, and would break him even more if he knew.

What did Dipper _want_? What did Damon have that he didn't? He could change. He'll change anything if he could just have Dipper back. He'll do anything _, anything_ at all. 

He just wanted to be in love again.

"Will?" a gentle voice whispered. "Are you in here?"

"William isn't here, he's in blanket town," he murmured. He pulled his blanket tighter around himself, even though the crisp night air wasn't enough to bite.

" _Will_ ," Dipper said. He sounded frustrated. "I'm not going to leave your room until you tell me what's wrong."

"You wanna know what's wrong, Pines?" He let out a mirthless laugh. "ME! I'm wrong! Everything about me being here is _wrong_!"

The wood creaked under Dipper's weight when he tried to get closer. "You're not _wrong,_ " Dipper huffed. Even in the darkness, Will could tell he was making air quotes. "Whatever that means, anyway. Look, I'm sorry I lashed out at you. It just happens. And I know you don't mean to lash out at my boyfriend either."

"But I did."

Dipper took a few more steps, now directly beside the bed. Will still refused to look at him, instead enjoying his time looking at the walls of his room. "Then that's okay too," Dipper crooned. He bent down, like he wanted to reach over and touch him.

"Can you leave me alone _now_?" Will said softly. He kept his head hidden between his knees. "I'm tired." He didn't care if he sounded four years old.

"I can tell," Dipper agreed. He sat on the edge of Will's bed, gently and carefully. It sank under a new weight, just by an inch. Dipper didn't make a move to touch him yet. Will was beyond glad. "But I'm not going to leave yet, you know."

Instead of rounding on, or snapping, or screaming at Dipper to get out of his room, Will only lifted his head. He blinked, once then twice. He could see Dipper's face right in front of him, just mere inches from his own. It was a reflection of concern and guilt, emotions that would've manifested on his own face if he stayed down there a little bit longer.

He took a deep breath. Then let go of that same breath through his nose. He turned his body, just a little bit, so it faced Dipper. "Come here," he murmured.

Dipper's lips turned down in a worried frown. "...what?"

"I said, come here," Will repeated, just a little louder. He held out his arms, just a little.

Dipper got the message as soon as he did, his frown changing to one of suppressed laughter, and crawled his way over to the back wall where Will sat.

And as soon as he got within an arm's length, Will trapped him in his arms, forcing the brunet to sit down in between Will's legs and have his head pressed against Will's warm body. Dipper laughed, joyfully and warmly. He didn't make a move to move away from Will's possessive arms.

Will, on the other hand, pressed his forehead against the back of Dipper's neck, staying in that position quite comfortably. His arms wound around Dipper's waist, locking the other in. 

"Do you feel better now?" Dipper asked gently. There was no judgement in his tone.

Will nodded, even though Dipper couldn't see it. "Your hair is so fluffy," he mumbled instead.

Dipper laughed again. "I thought I was the only one who mumbles things the other shouldn't hear."

"But you are," Will argued. "You were supposed to hear that either way."

He shifted in Will's arms. Not to get out, but to get into a much more comfortable position. Like he planned on staying there quite a while. They didn't speak until he stopped.

"I wish I could kiss you right now." That time wasn't supposed to be heard.

"I know. I kinda do too," Dipper whispered back. "If I was dating you, of course. But I have Damon, so I..."

Will swallowed the apple-sized lump in his throat. "If...if, hypothetically, Damon wasn't ever yours, would you...?"

"Of course. I would've been obsessed with you. I would've...loved you more than I would care to admit."

Will blinked. "You really think that?" he said quietly. Any louder would've given away the shake in his voice. "Do you really think you would've loved me?" And now he was sounding exactly like the emotional mess he was in his dream.

"Well, what do _you_ think?" Dipper asked him kindly. "Do you think I'd be yours if Damon was never mine?"

"I was already yours to begin with," Will said softly. "Even if you never realized it."

He nuzzled his face deeper into Dipper's neck, wanting to get as close as he could without setting any red flags. And right now, they were tipping the line between friends and lovers. Why, when Dipper looked so keen on staying with Damon just now?

"Is it...is it okay to talk to you like this?" Will asked him hesitantly. "Wouldn't this be considered cheating in a way in your country?" Or anywhere in this dimension, he almost added.

Dipper shrugged. "The heart wants what it wants. If I end up falling in love with you over sentimental talks like this, then fine." He laughed, just a little. "But I doubt it. I'm smarter than to do that. It'll just...end up in way more drama between my family, you know?"

"Drama?" He shifted. "Does Stanford and Stanley not like me?"

"No. It's not that." Dipper hesitated, as if contemplating whether telling Will or leaving it. Eventually, the latter ruled, and he said, "Damon likes to go to bars sometimes. I see him walking with some people once in a while." His voice dropped, clearing his throat once. "Obviously, I got jealous over that and..."

Will's heart felt like it was squeezing in his chest. Or, more like it was being pulverized. The thought of Dipper getting hurt alone was enough for him to just...

"Did he hurt you?" Will guessed, trying his hardest to keep the crackle away from his tone. He could tell it wasn't working. "Did he...do anything to you?"

Dipper shook his head. "Arguments," he whispered back. "Nothing...nothing else happened, I promise."

"Promise?" His voice shook, harder than it ever was before. He sounded like a little kid, on the verge of crying and shaking. But he didn't care. "Promise you'll tell me when he hurts you again? Promise me?"

"Promise," Dipper murmured.

That was the only deal that Will thought ever truly mattered to him.

He could feel Dipper's own cold hands meet the ones around his waist, his fingertips brushing over Will's knuckles almost lovingly. It was only his wishful thinking, considering how Dipper liked to do these things while he spaced out. He tended to do it a lot. And Will was always the first one to notice.

"I just wish you and Damon could stop fighting so much," Dipper sighed. "One of these days, you're going to get so fed up with him that you run away. And I don't..." He trailed off. Then he swallowed, licking his lips, and finally finished off bluntly, "I don't want that to happen. I like you here."

"Why does it matter?" Will mumbled tiredly. "You could get another friend like me."

"But no one's like you. You have magic. You're sweet. You have a crush on me but you backed off the moment I told you I wasn't interested. Excluding the kiss, of course." Dipper nudged him. "You feel like home and that's what I like about you. Home can't be replaceable, Will."

"Yes it can." He felt confused. "You could move out and buy a new house. Or a mansion. Or whatever the heck floats your boat. In that case, why not a boat then? Your Grunkles are picking out the ice right now to let it sail even."

"That's _shelter,_ Will," he laughed. "Look, let me put it this way; home is like...a place or a person or a thing where you're happy. At peace. Like everything you ever worried about doesn't matter because all you had to do was be there and just...feel like you mattered. Where you don't...feel like you should question everything and anything that moves." His voice dropped with each syllable, like he was becoming unsure of his own words. "Home is somewhere you'd never want to leave. Just like how _I_ don't want you to leave."

Will buried his head in his neck. "Then I guess my home is with you, Pine Tree," he muttered.

It took him a deep inhale and the body he was holding to go rigid for him to realize what he just said.

He cleared his throat, arms around Dipper loosening just a bit, like he wanted to scoot away and never come back. "I didn't know where that came from. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"You call the twins something like that, don't you?" Dipper asked. "Orion is Pine Needle and Liz is Pine Cone, if I remember." He sounded faraway.

"Yeah," he answered warily. "Why?"

Dipper laughed. "Sorry, it just- Pine Tree sounded really, _really_ familiar." He shook his head. "It was just with the twins." To Will's surprise, he brought his own legs up to his chest, and turned to the side so his head was pressed cozily to Will's own heartbeat.

"Don't you think your boyfriend is going to have a heart attack if he ever found us tangled up like this?" Will chuckled. He tried to force his heartbeat to a much more normal level. "I have my head buried your neck, my arms wrapped around your stomach, and you're cuddled up against me like a teddy bear. And you didn't even...tell me to pull away."

"Why would I?" Dipper asked gently. He shifted, just a little, to press closer against Will. "I know he's going to go ape-shit if he found us like this. I know him better than anyone. But I know you too. You wouldn't try anything else with me unless I let you. And...isn't this what friends do?"

"Cuddle?" Will laughed. "How many friends have you had in your lifetime excluding family and your boyfriend, Dipper?"

From where he sat, he could see Dipper's ears gradually turn red up close. He hunched up in embarrassment, and Will bit back another laugh. "Then close friends!" Dipper sputtered. "We're comfortable with each other to this, aren't we?"

"That, or you just really wanted to cuddle with me, hmm?" Will teased. And slowly, his smile began to drop, just as Dipper's comment sank in. "You think we're close?"

"Well, duh?" It came out as a slight question. "I mean...if you want to...?" Dipper asked him, a slight edge of nerves to his question. Will guessed the socially awkward boy he knew never really left in some parts.

Instead of replying directly or sardonically in his own little way, Will had grown quiet. He could still feel Dipper's fingertips brushing over his knuckles with a gentleness only a lover could achieve. Even if Dipper was doing it as a nervous tic, he couldn't help but feel just a little bit closer. Closer to having Dipper, and to being mutually in love, and...

Dipper's head drooped, just a little. Will could see him close his eyes, as if content with something. And then the crickets outside his window, the wind blowing wildly, and the argument between three men downstairs became muted. His heart thrummed to the beat of his emotions, wild and fast and frenzied like it was never going to have the chance to beat again.

"Why is your heart beating so fast, William?"Dipper murmured softly. He still had his eyes closed, fingers still playing with Will's hands thoughtlessly.

There were more reasons to that than there were stars in the sky, and just like picking out the prettiest of them all, he couldn't pick out just one.

So he let his silence stretch on, letting Dipper play with his hands while he watched the content on his face like his favorite TV show. It was hard nowadays to actually look at Dipper once and catch him truly smiling, and Will couldn't believe that he was the one to let it truly happen, might as well have him tucked around his arms like something to protect from the rest of the world.

Will swallowed up the words clogging up his throat, and beamed tiredly. Like a person proud of an achievement they had been working on for years.

"I think the best thing I love being with you is that-" Will nudged him, just slightly, to make Dipper bark out a yelp of laughter. He grinned to himself, proud to find the ticklish spot in the boy's side. "-you act a hundred times different with me than you do with anyone else."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dipper argued.

"Think about it," Will tittered. "The first time we met, you acted like we were old buds from college, and you practically do the same with everyone else. Even Damon. You're like this completely different person in front of other human species like you don't want to show them that you're just some guy whose maybe a little frayed at the edges but then..." He trailed off, slowly. He spoke too much. _Damn it,_ he spoke too much.

Dipper had been hushed into silence when he rambled. And he only spoke up after what seemed like hours after Will had stopped talking completely. He still played with Will's knuckles and joints, though it became more solemn. "I should practice a little more when it comes to faking emotions in front of people, huh?" he whispered.

"If you had perfected your pretended emotions, then I would've never fallen in love with you," Will said, matter-of-factly. "I don't...like it when you smile sometimes. Because I could tell you're faking it. And I don't- I don't like that."

"How could you tell?"

"Because I do it too," Will admitted. "I have been my whole life. And I know _not_ smiling would cause other people to pity me so I just- smile to make it all better. It only became genuine when I met you."

"How could you be so happy with me, Will?" Dipper asked him in disbelief. In utter, complete disbelief. Like a question he was aching to ask him for weeks on end. His fidgeting stopped completely, and Will had to suppress a complaint. "All I've done to you was talk and talk some more and do normal stuff and suddenly- you practically announce you're in love with me. In. _Love._ Do you even know how big of that word is being used here?"

"Of course," Will told him. "That's why I used it. I love you. I love the thought of you and the feeling of you and just- everything about you. I don't need a reason to even explain that. All you have to know is that I love you." _I love you, I love you, I love you._

Even though he knew Dipper wasn't going to say it back now, possibly ever, it felt so good to say it out loud.

The hands that suddenly stopped moving, moved yet again, just slightly. Solemnly, even. They wrapped around Will's fingers, the ones around his own waist, and he squeezed them. Without Dipper even saying a word, Will knew it was only from pity. Complete and utter pity.

"I wish I could say the same thing to you," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

He couldn't swallow the lump in his throat this time. "I know."

"If it helps..." Dipper hesitated. "If all of this wasn't so fucked up, I would've felt the same way about you. But since there's-"

"-Damon, you feel like it's all wrong," Will sighed. "I know you well, Dipper, maybe even more than you know yourself. You have morals and I practically don't. And I'll respect them." _For how long, I don't know._

" _I'm so sor_ -" Dipper croaked out.

"Don't." Will blinked away tears. Real, actual tears. Ones that were from heartbreak, and not from anger. The first time in millions of years, and it was because someone who made it clear didn't love him reminded him of it. "Please don't."

Those dreams...they got one thing right. But everything else- with Dipper loving him, and telling him it was always him to begin with- wasn't.

Silence seemed to be the only thing that could accompany them right now.

His heart, the one that had beat so hard and rapidly, was beginning to slow down. He couldn't tell what Dipper's own heart was doing, but he bet it was the same throughout their whole conversation. Just steady and calm. Because, obviously, Will could never have any effect on how Dipper could feel.

"I need to go to sleep," Dipper suddenly mumbled. Before he could give the chance for Will to speak, he turned his head swiftly, pressing a quick peck on Will's nose. It rendered the other to a sputtering buffoon, a feat Dipper didn't seem to notice. "I don't think you've noticed, but it's eleven-thirty. My boyfriend wants to take me out on a date early in the morning."

"You're worried about that, but you don't seem to realize that you just talked about feelings with a guy who has a crush on you," Will teased. He silently congratulated himself for not stumbling over his words. Yet that could only be because it were words he wanted to say for quite a while now.

Dipper tugged against Will's arms around his abdomen, and Will slithered them away immediately, letting him slide off the bed and back onto his feet. Will brought his knees back up to his chest, blanket now curled around him protectively while he watched Dipper walk away to the stairs.

When he did, Dipper stopped right at the first step and turned around, arms crossed and side leaning against the wall for support.

"It was nice talking to you, you know," Dipper told him with a soft smile. Tired but genuine. "Sometimes I keep forgetting that you exist in this house. We need to talk more."

"Yeah," he agreed. He hesitated, watching as Dipper shifted from foot to foot, knowing that Will had something else to say, from how much he was chewing on his lower lip. "So, listen- your friend, Pacifica Northwest, the twins' mother?"

Dipper simply raised an eyebrow at the mention of his childhood friend. "What about her?"

"She's hosting some grand Northwest party next week. She left a voicemail last time, and I deleted it because I thought you wouldn't be interested but..." He smiled, tiredly so, at Dipper. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who felt as exhausted as they smiled. "Since Damon can't stay long because it overlaps with his shifts at the Shack, I was thinking maybe you and I could go together?" he asked as gentlemanly as possible. 

Dipper only stared at him, brow now knitted together.

"As friends, obviously," he said quickly. "Damon should be able tag along for the first half, but...I could make a deal with you, ya know? You agree and I could set it all up-"

"I'd love that," Dipper said quietly. He chuckled, just a little. "You don't need to make deals with me, Will. You just have to ask. We need to hang out more often, anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, good point," Will agreed. He tried not to grin to make him seem overly excited. He could tell that Dipper knew regardless, anyway. "I guess I'll see you in the morning, P.T."

"Sweet dreams, William. Don't let the bed bugs bite," Dipper teased.

"Back at cha," Will grinned. "Turn off the lights when you go, will you? I got sleepy talking to you drone on and _on_ -"

" _Shut up_ ," Dipper groaned. He flicked Will's lights off, enveloping them in darkness. The light from downstairs illuminated Dipper's face. "Will?"

"Hmm?"

"Damon doesn't bother you...right?"

Will paused. "No. I know where he's coming from," he said quietly. "If someone I _knew,_ one hundred percent, had a crush on _my_ boyfriend, I would've never let that person get two miles from my own house. Me being here is taboo enough for him."

"Just...don't let him get to your head. Okay?" Dipper paused. "I know he has every right to be angry and bitter with you, Will. But that doesn't mean you can do the same," he said softly. Will's eyes drifted down to his floor, avoiding Dipper's eyes like a scolded child. "William."

He didn't look up. "William," Dipper said again, louder. He didn't say anything.

Dipper sighed, the wood creaking underneath him as he shifted his weight. "Will, can you look at me?" There was a short pause, like he was trying to force himself to say it, before he added, quite meekly, "Please?"

He did. Eyes looked over his eyelashes, and he didn't lift his head. That was enough for Dipper, at least. "I know you think I don't give a rat's ass about you, but I do," Dipper whispered. "If...if Damon says anything you don't like, or if he just- does anything, anything at all that makes you uncomfortable, you come running to me, alright?"

"Fine." He chewed on his bottom lip. "Promise." The last word came out of him before he could stop it. Dipper only looked relieved.

"Okay. Good night."

"You said that twice."

"I said, 'Sweet dreams' the first time, you dumbo."

"Touche." He smiled in the darkness, even though he knew Dipper couldn't see his face. "You should get to bed with your boyfriend. He'll be worried about you." softly

"You're right," Dipper sighed. He shifted his weight, creaking the wood underneath his feet yet again. "See you tomorrow, I guess. Blueberry pancakes again?"

"You know it, Pines," Will snorted.

Dipper laughed, biding him one last good night before turning around. He left, even when Will kept staring at the spot he used to be in, a small frown tugging at his lips as his fists curled into his blanket. His mind seemed to go blank, even though he was working it overtime to quickly think of a solution before he went to bed.

Pine Tree, Pine Tree, _Pine Tree_...Pine...Tree...?

What _was_ the reason he called Dipper Pine Tree again?

Shaking his head, Will slammed his head back against his pillow, nearly socking himself in the jaw in the process of pulling his blankets up. That will wait until morning. For now, he needed to go to sleep.

But still, with him feeling the happiest in weeks and the sleepiest in months, William could not close his eyes and fall asleep. He couldn't help but think of the tale he heard so long ago, until he eventually shifted into the dreamworld hours later with a soft, hopeful smile on his face.

The tale that when you can't sleep at night, someone is thinking about you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this fluff or is this angst, I can't tell.
> 
> Anyway, let's play a game. Take a shot every single time you could mentally and physically feel William realize how much he's in love with this stupid, clumsy, drunk dork next chapter. And take a jar of moonshine when Dipper does the same.
> 
> I- I mean what. (And I'll be on time next time to update, asdfghjklqwertyuio-)


	19. Never Waltz with a Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is it that this fic is only at its halfway point and it's already 160,000+ words, oh dear. Is it being so long good or what because hot diggity. Also hey, I'm on time :D. All my problems have been washed up as of now, partly thanks to you all~ 
> 
> Also hey, I suggest you guys listen to "If You Love Me, Really Love Me" by Vera Lynn before reading or during this chapter to complete the experience. ˚✧₊⁎( ˘ω˘ )⁎⁺˳✧༚

_"If you love me, really love me_  
Let it happen, I won't care  
If it seems that everything is lost  
I should smile and never count the cost  
If you love me, really love me  
Let it happen, darling  
I won't care."

**[If You Love Me, Really Love Me | Vera Lynn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZYiSVx8yWk) **

* * *

How does an interdimensional psychopath that had destroyed every planet, dimension, and place in the galaxy and more convince the one town he spent years terrorizing that he was no longer into that kind of stuff?

Well, you can't.

What was done, was done. It was like murdering a small child in front of the parents and telling said parents that you didn't mean it and you would never do it again. It's not how it works.

So what the hell can William do, to contradict the actions of Bill Cipher?

Ignore it? Pretend they never happened? Live his life as a normal human being? _Damn it,_ that's not how it _works_! Yes, he wasn't about to go out to the world and apologize for everything he did, might as well tell people he did does things in the first place. Even as a human, Will wasn't a goody two shoes. He wasn't going to do volunteer work for the rest of his life, or join some prevention club, or help puppies in Africa or whatever the heck people do these days. But what can a person like him do, when literally all you ever did in the past comes back for you and makes you feel like complete and utter _shit_?

Or the fact that the person he was in love with, heads over heels and dumbstruck to the very core by, was the same person he broke beyond repair?

And to them, to the Pines, to Gravity Falls, to every dimension, to _Dipper,_ William will always be Bill Cipher, no matter how many times he screamed, or cried, or shouted.

Will looked at himself in the mirror one more time, a pair of scissors on the counter in front of him and his discarded sweaty shirt on the floor, neglected and ignored. He ran his hand through his newly cut hair, feeling for a spot he might've missed. And sadly, though Will could tell a person how and when they could die (that gift was slowly starting to die out), he was no professional barber. He only cut it shorter by less than an inch, just to ward off tangles and the sweat always sticking to his skin.

Hair still came over his eyes though, but Will didn't want to risk cutting off his bangs. He only had one body after all. He messed this one up, and he couldn't just go out and get another.

Obviously, he _could_ if he wanted to. But the last time he got a new body after fucking up the original, well...

Will's arms hung limp by his sides, eyes inspecting over every little hair that dared itself to stick out of line. Everything, thankfully, was as it should be. No bald spots, no accidental cutting of the skin, and no sign of overly messy blond hair. He looked neat and tidy, even standing in the middle of a bathroom shirtless. As a gentleman should be.

No gentleman should have a large tattoo over their heart, however.

As if just realizing that he had a colorful, beautiful tattoo that took over his chest, Will's eyes sprung down to it, brows furrowed in confusion and concentration. Over the years, the color of it was starting to fade, just slightly. But even then, the tattoo was just as breathtaking as it was from the very first time he got it. When _they_ got it.

His tattoo was one part of a pair. The other side probably didn't even acknowledge it was only a half. 

He should've removed the tattoo the night he left.

But he didn't, and he caught himself wondering if Dipper had done the act he failed to do. If Dipper was brave enough, _strong_ enough to do such a thing. Or if he even knew what the tattoo meant. He probably didn't, and that hurt more than knowing Dipper could've taken it off.

Will stared, just for a little longer, at the colorful key drawn over his beating heart. About how every night he slept with someone, he'd run his hand over the same place. About how every time he did, he'd realize how wrong it felt to be sleeping with someone other than Dipper. About how after the guilt would wash away, he'd run, run faster than ever before, so he could never be attached to another person.

And how, after years of running away and harboring a heart heavier than all the gold in the world, this same key was the one thing that led him back to the lock it was meant for.

The lock that had Dipper's heart imprisoned in its own regrets.

* * *

 ****The car outside honked four more times, each time more persistent and impatient than the last.

Will looked over his shoulder, not expecting anyone other than his dog that was currently chewing on an old bone he got from Wendy yesterday. He made a face, hands still playing with the black bow tie still refusing to be properly placed around his neck.

"Don't get your ass in a twist!" Will shouted. He tugged in frustration at the tie. "I'll be out in a minute!"

"You said that fifteen minutes ago!" came Damon's angry reply. He honked his horn, two more times. "We're going to be late for Pacifica's party! And you _know_ how mad she gets when someone comes to a party she's hosting late!"

Will only rolled his eyes, even though Damon wasn't there to see it. Finally, _finally,_ after tugging a few more times at the stupid bow tie, it sprung free and placed itself delicately around Will's neck, complimenting the charcoal suit he was wearing. Heck, it even went well with the yellow carnation flower tucked in the breast pocket- for complimentary reasons, of course.

He grinned at his reflection, happy that he finally perfected his look. It wasn't bad to impress guests at a fancy party. It was a Northwest party too, which was basically saying, "Hey, wanna have a chance to be the coolest person in Gravity Falls?" Now, who wouldn't wanna say no to that?

"I do!" Dipper shouted over the noise of Stanford's babbling downstairs. "Grunkle Stan, help me out here. I don't- there's no reason I-" His voice kept fading in and out, like a radio trying to be put on the right station. He was probably arguing with his Grunkles in the kitchen, marching around so that the attic could barely catch a drift of what he was saying. That could explain why Damon was extra prissy with Will today.

Will, mouth in a small line and hands running over his rented suit to smooth out the wrinkles, looked down at his dog. "You don't suppose you wanna run down for your old buddy and stop the Pines from arguing so much that they might as well throw the sofas at each other, do you?"

Little Bear looked up, still munching down on her bone as she gave a little shake of the head.

He sighed. "I thought so."

His dog barked, as if to say, _You're a trillion year old ex-demon and you're asking a_ dog _to fix your problems. You idiot._

He nearly flinched when he heard the shrill noise of a car horn, much louder than last time as if the noise was put through a megaphone. "WILLIAM! DIPPER! IF THE BOTH OF YOU AREN'T GETTING OUT OF THAT STUPID HOUSE, I'LL DRIVE AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!"

"Good, maybe I'll have peace and quiet around here!" was Will's response.

"Just one more minute!" was Dipper's.

Will rolled his eyes when he heard Damon give out a big ol' sigh, loud and dramatic enough for him to even hear it from up in his room. His dog, disgruntled by the exchange of shouting between the three, had taken her bone and moved under Will's bed. Thankfully, Chip had taken his time off from annoying the dog and spent the last few hours somewhere in the town, away from the Shack. Will just hoped he wouldn't wake up with a dead bird on his bed this time. The blood was hard enough to clean as it is.

Finally deciding that annoying Damon wasn't the best decision when he was their only taxi to get to the party, Will hurriedly strapped a Rolex watch (one he 'borrowed' from a shop) on his wrist and made his way downstairs. 

By the time he got there, Dipper was already furiously stuffing his arms into a tight suit jacket, his grimaced look already showing his discomfort with wearing such formal attire. 

Dipper paused from wrestling with his own clothing, looking up at Will the moment his foot touched the last stair. His Grunkles were in the kitchen, arguing among themselves like the old siblings they were. Only this time, they didn't include Dipper in them. Will could barely hear them from here, but even a deaf fool could tell the argument was just a little beyond their usual morning bickering.

Their fights were the least of Will's worries right now. He needed to deal with Dipper's surprise first.

How Dipper looked at him was almost comical, if it wasn't for the fact that Will was already irritated by Damon's shouting. It shifted from surprise, to shock, to confusion, to awe, and even to downright insult. The poor guy managed to stuff his other arm in his suit before Will could speak, walking towards him casually as if he didn't see how offended Dipper looked.

Dipper cleared his throat the moment Will sidled up beside him, hands running over his jacket to smooth it out, and to keep the shakiness out of them. "What...what did you do to your hair?" he asked weakly.

Will's hand shot up to his hair like a command, fingers running through them carefully and mindlessly, as if he was looking for a bald spot. From how Dipper was looking at him, he wouldn't be surprised to find one at the back of his head. "Why?" he said back, sounding just as confused as Dipper was.

Dipper's eyes narrowed at his questions, hands coming down to the hem of his jacket. He pulled it down, fidgeting with the edges and stitches. Even his eyes were jumping around, searching all of Will's head like Will had grown a second one. Muffled voices were still coming from the kitchen of the Shack, sounding quieter than they were before. Or that could just be William. He didn't know for sure. The way Dipper kept looking at him was too distracting.

Curious now and still in slight shock, Dipper leaned forward, a hand raising up cautiously towards Will. Like he suddenly realized that he was just about to do what he was going to do, he stopped, looked at Will, and furrowed his brow.

Then Will gulped, just slightly, before dropping the hand tangled in his own hair like it was on fire. It struck him as odd, with how much Dipper seemed suddenly warily of him. But nonetheless, he nodded, just a little, to tell Dipper that it was okay.

Dipper deflated, hand reaching out to run itself over Will's slightly shortened hair. The trim he did on his own hair yesterday night wasn't enough to be noticeable, yet Dipper looked like Will had shaved his entire head and called it a fashion statement. Will even wondered _how_ Dipper knew that his hair was cut.

From how they stood, both spines straightened and just inches apart, their height differences were almost nonexistent. Their heads matched up in height, eyes level to each other so that looking ahead meant looking right at each other. That wasn't what Dipper was noticing though, too engrossed in Will's horrifying haircut like all of it was his fault.

"You don't like it?" he said, soft and weak in tone. He only cut his hair because it was bothering him. But if Dipper didn't like it, then...

"What?" Dipper looked genuinely surprised by his question. His hand flinched back from Will's hair, as if it really was on fire. He shook his head, swallowing so that his minute Adam's apple bobbed up and down in panic. "I- It's not that."

"Then why are you looking at me like I grew a second head?"

Dipper heaved a small laugh. He ran his hand through his own hair now, looking slightly embarrassed and nervous by his previous actions. "I'm sorry. I just...liked it. A lot. It makes you look a little cuter, so I-" He coughed into his hand now, the slight red tinge to his cheeks and ears glowing harder. "I- I mean your hairstyle! N- not you in general, j- just-"

"It's fine," Will laughed. Dipper looked completely embarrassed, only seeming to fumble over himself the more Will laughed. "You're cute when you stutter, you know that?" he drawled fondly, the tiniest of smiles on his faces when Dipper's cheeks flamed red. The poor kid looked just about ready to bolt the other way like a deer.

"I- I stutter all the time though!" Dipper argued.

Will grinned. "You are absolutely right."

Before Dipper could open his mouth and utter a snarkier remark, a car horn broke the bond between them, sounding dangerously impatient and angered. Dipper looked over his shoulder, to the door that was left open for them to walk through and finally get it over with.

"I'M GIVING THE TWO OF YOU THE COUNT OF THREE! IF YOU'RE NOT HERE BEFORE I SAY ZERO, I'M-"

"WE'RE COMING!" Will shouted back. "WHAT PART OF 'GIVE US A MINUTE' DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!"

"William, the party starts in thirty minutes and Pacifica told us to get there early!" Damon snapped back, slightly calmer. He honked his horn either way. "I will not be responsible for any dragging-by-the-ear or motherly shouting if-!"

"WE GET IT!" Dipper and Will yelled.

The duo looked at each other in exasperation, before sprinting out the door without another word, with the exception of Dipper, who shouted at his Grunkles that he was going to the party now. Will shut the door behind them, following Dipper who sped-walked to the front of the Shack, to an antsy driver sitting in an old black mustang car. 

Damon perked up when he caught sight of Dipper, a look of relief washing over his face when he saw that no, Will was not holding Dipper by the waist or shoulders with a shit-eating grin on his face. He started the car, the headlights coming on and the purr of the engine filling the quiet forest at this side of the town. "That took you guys long enough!" Damon scolded, sounding much more relaxed than he was before.

It only took a moment for Will to see what got him so restless. Leave your boyfriend and your boyfriend's ex in a house alone for even a few moments and a person could definitely become paranoid.

"I was talking to my Grunkles," Dipper said dismissively, opening the passenger seat next to Damon as per usual. Will, always the third wheel of the trio, sulked to the back of the car and got in. "They were angry that I still had three pills left for the month. They had to be all gone by today," he added in further detail, rolling his eyes as if such a thing to argue about was the most childish thing in the world.

"Well, _did_ you take your meds today?" Will and Damon asked at the same time. "You better have. I'll stuff them down your throat if you didn't." And weirdly, they said it in unison, yet again. With the same threat in their voices and everything.

Dipper gave his boyfriend a look, then the same look with Will in the rear-view mirror.

"In fact, I did. Thanks for asking," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Damon frowned, pulling out from where they were to get on the road. They passed Wendy as they did, who was showing tourists a new attraction with a visiting Soos, a sulking JJ on his shoulders. Wendy paused, waving at them and tugged on Soos's shirt to do the same. Soos grinned, JJ's face perking up when he saw Will in the back and waved energetically. They were gone out of the Mystery Shack's sight before they knew it.

"You know, I gotta agree with Stanford and Stanley on this one," Damon said gently, like saying one wrong word would erupt the volcano that was called Dipper's Useless Rants and Flailing Arms. "You need to take those medications for a reason. Without them, you won't be as...healthy as you are now."

"Not you too," Dipper groaned, head leaning against the side of his window. "It was just three pills, Damon. It's not like I missed all thirty-one."

"Every one counts, babe," Damon chirped. Will mentally cringed. Maybe physically too. "I don't want you going to the doctor and feeling down anytime soon."

"As if you know how that feels," Dipper grumbled under his breath, already slipping out of his seat.

"If it helps, I could give you a piece of candy each time you remember taking a pill," Will chirped up from behind them. They were on the highway now. He popped up in between the two seats, holding out an M&M for Dipper to take. "You could have one right now, since you took one today!"

Dipper looked down at his hand, at the lonely yellow M&M. Then he looked back at Will in confusion. "Why do you have an M&M? _How_  do you have an M&M?" he said in disbelief.

Will shrugged, popping the candy in his mouth when Dipper failed to take it. He sat back, the seat belt no longer choking him to death from straining up front. "Orion gave me a few when I babysat him. I kept a few for memories."

Damon snickered. "How pathetic do you have to be to keep a child's bacteria infected candy?"

Dipper slapped the back of his head. 

Grinning, Will swallowed the M&M, humming under his breath with his arms right behind his head. He was the definition of casual at the moment. "So, Damon. What's so important that you can't be there with your boyfriend in the most romantic, private, delicate party of the year, hmm?" he wondered aloud, purposely doing so to watch the guy grind his teeth together.

It worked, and Damon hunched over the steering wheel, looking shady and grumpy at everything and anything at the world. There was no doubt that Damon wanted to turn them right around and command them both to go on with their usual activities that didn't involve them going alone to a Northwest party, which was known for its posh traditions and favorite couple spots. Something Damon was clearly paranoid over.

In fact, the only reason why he _let_ them go by themselves was because Dipper told him that Pacifica would be keeping watch. And since Pacifica was a dear friend of Damon's, he relaxed. Kinda.

Jokes on him entirely. While Pacifica was Damon's trustworthy friend, she would drop everything and anything to help the close friend of her beloved Mabel. At least, that's what William was counting on.

"So," Damon casually said, gaining the attention of Will and Dipper. Though he was meant to sound completely at ease, Will could find the hint of constipation in his tone. Will would have teased him right then and there, about sounding like the guy needed to take a number two as soon as possible. But he didn't, just for the sake of not being hit over the head by Dipper. "Pacifica's party. Fancy one, knowing her. What are you guys planning to do there?"

"Oh, I don't know, have sex with your boyfriend in an act of infidelity, making slow love all night long while we talk about how ridiculous you look in your thrift shop bought hat," Will answered almost automatically, the sarcasm so strong that Damon had to wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"What he _means_ is," Dipper interrupted, shooting Will an unamused look in the rear-view mirror as he did so, "We'll probably just chat up some guests at the party and drink wine they offer for free- like, come on, I may not be a heavy drinker but free wine was an added bonus any time of the day, right? Then of course dancing is always the life of the party, and-"

"Dancing with _who_?" Damon scowled.

"Dancing with guests. And Pacifica. And Will, most likely." Dipper rolled his eyes. "Damon, you're acting like if I dance with Will, I just had unsanitary butt sex with him."

"Well, you might as well have!" Damon exclaimed, accelerating on the gas so fast that Will was pulled right back against his seat and nearly hit his head. Damon didn't seem to care though, speaking rapidly as if not getting out his words would cause the world to be destroyed. "Babe, this guy's _insane_! First, he marches up to our house saying that he lives here-"

"Which is because he does!" Dipper interjected.

"-and then a few weeks later, he announces he's in _love_ with you!" Damon laughed, sounding both brittle and humorless. "Okay fine, you're an easy person to be in love with. Considering how I fell for _you._ But c'mon, Will _knows_ you're with someone else but he still has the audacity to declare his undying love for you like this was some stupid _soap opera_!"

Will only stayed quiet the whole time, letting the two bicker by themselves in case he made everything worst. He shriveled up in his seat when Dipper shot back, saying something along the lines of, "Well, at least he knows his place! You, on the other hand, won't stop victimizing him until he gets kicked out of the states!"

"Then maybe I do exactly that, so what?" Damon said in annoyance. "You're seriously okay with Will sleeping in the same house as you, even right after basically announcing he won't until you come running to _him_ like a safety net? Dipper, are you blind? Have you lost both of your fucking eyes? We haven't fought this much until _he_ came living with us, until _he_ broke our relationship, until _he_ ruined _everything_!"

Will felt like he couldn't breathe. 

His nails dug into the seats so hard that he was afraid the leather was going to rip and his nails would clip right off. His chest tightened with each octave higher Damon spoke, with each word Dipper enunciated like a teacher trying to teach a class to speak a word properly. 

Because Damon's exacts words- Will could say the same things and it would go perfectly with how he felt.

And _damn it-_ being told you were only a safety net for a person was one of the worst feelings in the world. Because really, weren't nets only used for emergencies?

Was that all he really was to Dipper? Someone to crawl to when things went bad?

Mabel pulled him close to her chest throughout the whole car ride, shielding him from the world and those horrible lies like a mother would. Even though Dipper and Damon couldn't see it, Will was being held in the arms of the only person who knew exactly how it felt to be a broken web.

* * *

 ****Damon whistled lowly, putting their car in reverse to fit the tiny parking space in between a limo and an even larger limo. Compared to the sea of limos and sports cars from a fifty mile radius, Damon's old borrowed car stood out like a sore thumb.

"If McGucket's mansion was huge, this one is  _ginormous,_ " he commented, eyes drinking in the large hunk of a mansion known as the 'Northwest Manor II'. This one was just a little bit larger in size, thanks to the new renovations from last year from money Pacifica Elise Northwest saved up. In fact, Pacifica Northwest and her kids were the only Northwests actually living there.

Priscilla and Preston Northwest had taken a vacation to London, not even bothering to mention their decisions to their independent daughter. 

"The mansion looks fancier, if that's even possible," Dipper commented as well, leaning outside of his window to take a better look. "I'll take it that Pacifica's business is going better than expected of her parents."

"Well, that's the Northwest Brat for you. Snobby but not enough to win over foreign guests. And a poor decision to renovate the east wing, honestly," Will said breezily. Even though his actions would contradict what he said, Will leaned out his own window to take a look at the mansion. True to Dipper's words, the mansion _did_ look fancier- cleaner, awe-inspiring, and totally not over the top, in fact. Just the perfect amount of pizzazz.

Mabel grinned over his shoulder, whooping when she caught sight of the fountains gushing out water in front of the large oak gates. "Dude, I told her to install glitter on the cupids, and _she did_!" she said excitedly, squeezing her way out William's window. She floated delicately over to the marble statues pouring out the water, running her hands all over them with stars twinkling in her eyes. 

"And hey, is that glitter on the-?" Dipper said in surprise, oblivious to the brunette in a prom dress squealing over the statues he was pointing at.

"-cupids? Yeah. Pacifica probably ordered her butlers around to paint purple glitter over them to honor a friend." Will rolled his eyes, just out of exasperation when Mabel fell in the fountain, despite her ghostly abilities.

"Well? What are the two of you gaping for? The party is about to begin," Damon grumbled, hands drumming on the steering wheel. "Go before I change my mind, you know."

Will was the first one to shoot out of his seat without another word, almost flying out of the car when he did so. He closed the car door, striding over to the fountain to scold the ghost girl hastily trying to cover the crack she made on one of the marble statues.

"You could've at least gave me a warning if you decide to show up somewhere in the real world," Will said in between his teeth, trying his best to reduce the amount of lip moving he made. He pretended to inspect the coins on the bottom of the fountain, hands in his coat pockets like he was planning to flip one in for a wish.

Mabel snorted. "Please. This is Paz's party. You honestly think I _wouldn't_ turn up?" she said innocently, batting her eyelashes at him. Then her innocent stature broke, right when she looked down and saw that the crack was now gushing water to the grass outside of the fountain. A yelp escaped in between her lips.

"You won't be tailing me the whole day, right?" He laughed to himself, deciding that losing a nickel wouldn't be too bad on him. "The last thing I want you to do is get me together with one of Pacifica's clients using the 'Power of Mabel'." He put air quotes for emphasis.

Mabel made a _pshhh_ sound, sitting herself on top of one of the cupids' head. She propped her chin on her hand, looking down at Will with a half smile on her face. Not quite a smirk, but not quite a smile either. "You know I wouldn't do that. The only person I'd push you towards would be my stupid oblivious brother."

"Funny, considering how you're just as oblivious to things as your brother," Will said distastefully. He flipped a coin into the water with a satisfying plunk, breathing in crisp morning air into his nose soon after like doing such an action lifted some weight off his shoulders.

When he glanced back up, Mabel was only smiling back at him.

"And if you give me time, I'll eventually figure it out," Mabel said softly. "The same thing will happen to him."

"I didn't take you for the sentimental type, Shooting Star."

"And I didn't take you as the brunet-and-nerdy-loving type either."

"-nothing bad will happen between William and I, promise."

Mabel and Will turned to the sound of his given name. Dipper was hunched over the window of Damon's car, talking to the devil himself. Though they were speaking quietly, rumbling murmurs to be precise, Will had the natural hearing of a bat. And, obviously, quite the talent of reading lips as well.

"I feel a little better hearing you say that," Damon murmured back, a hand caressing Dipper's face. "But you can't just say something and say that it would never happen. That would be like me saying I don't spend my time thinking of you."

Will's mouth pressed together, arms crossing over his chest almost protectively. Mabel stayed quiet behind him, the sound of the fountain streaming out water the only thing that anchored him to the spot. 

"For the last time, William knows when to back off when he has to," Dipper said in exasperation, a little louder than their quiet voices just a moment ago. "I'll be fine, Damon. The both of us will be. Just...trust me on this one day. I wouldn't do anything you wouldn't like."

"I don't like you being around William in the first place," Damon said under his breath.

"And I don't like you fighting with each other like our stupid cat and his stupid dog." Dipper shot him a look. "Honestly, falling for a friend is the most cliche thing in the book. You know I'm not like that. I'd never be like that."

Damon laughed, dropping the hand caressing Dipper's cheek. He leaned away from the car window, away from Dipper. "You're right. I should- I should stop being a wreck over these kinds of things," he chuckled lightly. Then he leaned closer back to Dipper, and the nails digging into his biceps just got tighter. "I trust you. Are those three words enough for you?"

Dipper kissed him, full on the mouth.

"There are other three words on my mind I would like hearing from you right now," Dipper said softly.

The nails biting into his skin was sure to leave a mark for the morning. Angry, red welts that was sure to cover his whole biceps.

Damon grinned wider at him, like a Cheshire cat getting its way. But then his eyes caught Will's furious, blue orbs. And his whole face changed into a grimace, and he leaned out of the window just a little more. He pecked Dipper on the lips, whispering something so quietly that Will couldn't hear it. But from how his lips moved, Will got the drift.

He ducked his head back into his car, telling Dipper to have fun (while doing so, glancing over at Will with the most murderous look) and drove away.

Dipper watched his boyfriend drive away for a couple moments, eyes staring at the exit of the bar gates of the yard like Damon would magically come back, announce that he was attending the party to be with his beloved, and they'd dance the night away.

Will cleared his throat, and Dipper jumped like a spooked cat. The brunet turned a full 180, looking confused and embarrassed for a moment before he caught sight of William. His features relaxed, and he stuffed his crossed arms into his pockets. 

"Sorry I took so long. Damon didn't want to drive away until he was one hundred percent sure he could trust you," Dipper apologized. Little did he know was that Damon was really just checking to make sure he could trust _him._

"It's fine." Will forced a smile on his face, and prayed silently to himself that Mabel had left.

Dipper walked over to him, steps casual and posture upright. He was right next to Will now, but he didn't even bother looking at him. Instead, he looked down into the fountain, eyes gazing at the many shiny coins nestled at the very bottom. Some looked like real gold and minerals, and taking just a few would probably be enough for them to pay three months worth of bills. But Will knew that wasn't what Dipper was thinking about. Dipper wasn't selfish.

But he did have a self-esteem to take care of. 

"Do you have a coin I could borrow?" Dipper asked him, looking up into his eyes. 

"Interested in making a wish?" Will said, eyebrow raised in genuine surprise.

Dipper chuckled. "Don't be surprised. After you made me make a wish on that roof, I kinda go into the habit of doing it." He held out his hand, palm upwards.

"Why?" Will fished around in his deep pockets. "And by the way, yes I do have a coin." He ran a thumb over the cool metal of a quarter. His last one.

"Well, my first wish came true. Why not test my luck and see if my second one would too?" Dipper chirped. Will flipped the coin into his palm, his fingers closing around it automatically. 

"Now that your wish came true, you won't mind telling me what it is, right?" Will asked innocently, even going as far as to bat his eyelashes. "Riiiiiggght?"

Dipper pretended to think. "No."

Then he tossed the coin into the fountain, turning his head to stick his tongue out at a pouting William. They burst out laughing at the faces they made at each other. 

Then, shoulder to shoulder (Will tried to convince Dipper to waltz in there with arms hooked together, but Dipper only whacked him), they made their way into the mansion. Other guests were piling up to the front of the door, chatter and classy music coming from the inside like a paradise waiting to be entered. They were showered with lights and the smell of lush food when they got through the gigantic doors, a line for confirmation right up front.

Every guest that came in had to tell the butler of the mansion their name, and the butler would shout it out, and polite applause would soon come right after. If the guest was impressive enough, they would be rewarded with much louder clapping and whispers. And best case scenario, a guest would be given a standing ovation.

Since Pacifica only invited them because they were close friends and not "elite members of the rich", Will already knew what reaction they would be given.

But instead of asking for their name as the butler did for every person that walked through, the man standing straight and proud at the door simply glanced over them, and puffed out his chest to get ready for a loud announcement.

"Welcoming Dipper Pines, professor at the local high school-" At this, all the guests turned their heads away in disinterest, "-and the grandnephew of our hero, Stanley Pines!" There were gasps all around, and people began to murmur and whisper among themselves. Dipper only rolled his eyes. Of course, here in Gravity Falls, Pines was a last name as famous as Northwest or McGucket. Perhaps even more.

And before they could walk over the line and get out of there as fast as they can before Will's occupation of, "William Something Something, roomie of Dipper Pines in the Mystery Shack!" the butler had already beat them to it.

"And here is Dipper's companion, William, the closest friend of Pacifica Elise Northwest and heir to the company worth two point six billion dollars in Berlin!" he announced grandly. People gasped even louder, and gave him a standing ovation loud enough to burst out his eardrums.

 _Berlin,_ he thought in annoyance. _She had all the German cities to choose from and she chooses Berlin._

Those thoughts should probably be the least of his concerns, considering how Pacifica literally just told the butler to tell people he had a freaking _two billion dollar company._ Also, that and Dipper was looking at him weirder than he did back at the Shack. As if he grew a third head.

"Closest friend? Of Pacifica's?" he asked in disbelief when Will looked over at him.

Oh. Right.

"Rich men have their ties," Will lied through his teeth. They walked away from the front of the entrance.

"But I thought you said..."

"Never mind that," he said quickly. He scanned the guests littering the floor, perking up when he saw just who he needed. He pointed at them excitedly, forcing Dipper to look away from him to look where he was pointing at. "Look, there's the twins!"  

Rich parties were clearly not the favorites of the Northwest twins. They weaved through the guests of rich people and celebrities, all the while laughing their heads off. Some guests looked like they were about to pass out from the scares the twins gave them, and some just looked overall annoyed. Only a couple few didn't seemed fazed by the twins' mischief, and one of them were the mother of the twins herself.

And he didn't know if a laughing floating Mabel counted, but her too.

"Wait are they..." Dipper said, squinting out into the distance. "Are the twins wearing _onesies_?"

Indeed they were. Orion was wearing a penguin onesie, the hood over his eyes as he chased his sister almost drunkenly. Liz was wearing a panda onesie, an over-sized one at that. They kept laughing at each other, only erupting into more giggles when they got a close call from bumping into a person.

Will was so engrossed in watching the twins that he didn't see Pacifica stomping over to them with the most irritated look until she was basically right in front of them. 

"Pacifica, it's nice to see you," Dipper said kindly, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Right, right," Pacifica replied back dismissively, taking his hand to shake it in the most formal way in existence. "I'm glad you chose to came here, Dipstick. You always seem to hole up in that Shack of yours."

"Yeah, well." Dipper laughed, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

Before Will could properly introduce himself, Pacifica's eyes snapped to his, and for a moment Will thought she was beyond mad at him. The tip of his tongue had the words, "I could explain." but Pacifica didn't let him speak it just yet.

"William," she said overly sweetly. "When I got the message saying that you were in Gravity Falls after years of no more letters of our international penmanship, I nearly knocked my head on top of my eighteen million dollar limo! How are you?"

Feeling the eyes of Dipper burning into the side of his head like a laser, Will smiled as genuinely as he could, wiping his sweaty palms on each side of his pants. "I've been good," he strained out, congratulating himself for not stumbling over his words and instead putting confidence behind them like the man he was. Or, lack therefore. "How are your kids?" he added kindly.

As if on cue, something crashed right behind Pacifica, followed by maddened cackles. 

Pacifica didn't even flinch. The only thing that even remotely changed was her face- a lift of the lips, like she was trying not to smile. Before Will could even open his mouth, Pacifica answered his question for him. "Percy the Penguin and Penny the Panda," Pacifica said tiredly. "Wearing those onesies will be the only time they'd ever allow people to call them something other than Liz and Orion."

Dipper chuckled beside him. "Have you tried putting them in formal attire with bribery?"

"I've tried _everything_!" Pacifica exclaimed, throwing her arms up dramatically. "Not even candy for dinner and a new cheeseburger backpack won't convince them to stop hiding and shredding up their clothes!"

Will hummed to the violin in the background of the party. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he tilted his head slightly to the side in mock innocence. "Maybe they just need an actual babysitter they'd like and listen to," Will purred. "You know, like a certain blond with a name starting with 'W' and ends with 'M'?" He batted his eyelashes.

Pacifica snorted. Smoothing out her sparkly strapless dress, she said, "There's a chance you might set my kids on fire and frankly, taking you to court isn't the only thing I would do to you."

"What? _Me_?" Will looked mildly offended, and saw Dipper trying his best not to laugh out of the corner of his eye. "I'm the most responsible babysitter in the world!" he argued.

"Sure you are," Dipper mumbled under his breath. 

Will elbowed him in the ribs, earning a satisfying yelp in return. "C'mon, Pacifica," he whined, not caring that he sounded exactly like the twins when they wanted something from their mom. "Your kids listen to me! Imagine all of the stress you'd get off your shoulders if you give them to me over the weekends and- heck, why not everyday?" He laughed merrily.

"Alright, fine. That sounds like paradise to me," Pacifica admitted. She massaged the bridge of her nose, like she regretted coming over to talk to them. Will couldn't even see _why_ she wanted to come over to greet them."But Will, I don't know-"

"Do it!" he suggested excitedly. "The kids'll love me!" He could see Dipper trying to subtly shake his head at her from the corner of his eye. Will pouted.

Pacifica opened her mouth, a rejection already in the air, before her eyes flickered over to the noise of a little boy screaming his head off. Her eyes went huge as the saucers on the table, her feet tripping on invisible air when she tried scampering off to the other direction. "ORION, WAIT- THAT'S NOT A TOILET, THAT'S A _MILLION DOLLAR PUNCH BOWL_!"

And then she was gone to scold her son who squatted over a bowl with a constipated look on his face.

"And then there were two," Will announced in a dramatic deep voice.

"You mean one," Dipper declared. He pushed Will's back, forcing him forward just by a bit. "Since you're such a great babysitter, go ahead and stop Orion."

"Oho- no," Will chuckled, craning his head to look at him. He pointed at Dipper's chest, raising an eyebrow. "If I leave you alone, you're going to find yourself an empty room and sleep until sunrise, never speaking to a single person for the life of you."

"Oh no, you blew my cover," Dipper said sarcastically. "Look, I'll be fine. Just-"

Will looked over his shoulder, a mischievous smile lighting up his face. He blocked out Dipper's lecturing words, spotting a pretty girl talking to her just as pretty friend a couple steps away from them. He could hear them talking about guessing what the mansion's interior was made out of, something Dipper would know in an instant, considering he was the one who helped Pacifica design the place (according to the Northwest girl herself). A perfect sacri- ahem. A perfect candidate for diminishing Dipper's insecurities.

Then, without another word, he pushed Dipper, letting the surprised brunet to bump right against the girl. That same girl turned around, scowling at Dipper and demanding why he did such a thing to her and her friend. Dipper was stammering, not quite red in the face just yet. 

To change such a fate, Will waved goodbye to his introverted friend, singing, "Well, tell me when you get her numbeeeeer!" louder than intended.

Before he could face the consequences known as Dipper's death glares and judo flips from lessons with his Great Uncles, Will torpedoed out in the other direction to find Miss Northwest and her troublesome children. 

He found them not even a moment later, the family sticking out like a red rose among thorns in the corner of the room. Pacifica had successfully dragged her son away from the punch bowl, now wagging a figure at him with demands at the tip of her tongue. Orion and Liz were smaller under her gaze, holding each other while they cried for being caught red-handed. Their jumpsuits were all stained and wrinkled by this point in time, despite the party officially starting just a couple minutes ago.

The moment he was a couple inches from the back of their mother, both Orion and Liz stopped crying like their tears were on command, ear-splitting grins plastered on their faces like mirrors. "Willy, Willy, Willy!" they chanted happily, bouncing up and down like the hyperactive bunnies they were.

Confused by their sudden change in behavior, Pacifica stood up straighter, a blank look on her face. A couple seconds later, "Willy" became clear who that was to her, and she spun around.

She blinked, like seeing him was the biggest surprise of her life. "Oh. There you are."

"Yep," he said, popping the 'P'. "Did Orion successfully poop in the bowl or...?"

"Thankfully not," she huffed.

"Thankfully yee!" Orion piped up. "I poop pants!"

"Orion..." Pacifica said tiredly.

"Kid, go with your sister. Clean yourself up," Will barked. He looked down at them, smiling just slightly. He winked when Pacifica wasn't looking at him. "I heard there was some more punch in the hallway to the right. Way more."

Orion's face lit up like it was the Fourth of July. Poor Elizabeth didn't have time to protest before the kid took her by the chubby wrist, dragging them to the bathroom to reel over their plans of revenge on the much bigger, expensive bowl to where Will gladly pointed out.

"H- how did you-?" Pacifica stuttered, whirling around to look at them.

"I told you, your kids love me!" Will grinned at her like a wolf on the prowess. He had his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. "So whatdya say, lend them over to me tomorrow. Or whenever, whatever works for you."

To say she looked suspicious was an understatement. "You're not planning to brainwash my own kids, are you?"

"Other than putting in their minds that they could become the overlords of the universe? No," Will answered breezily.

"Then why do you...?"

"You're asking way too many questions to make this simple, Northwest."

"Well, what sane person would tell a person to lend their kids over to them ASAP?" Pacifica huffed, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. She looked about ready to bolt out of there and have some tea exported all the way from London to calm her nerves for a few hours. Which, perhaps she would do after she took care of business as the lovely host of this winter ball.

"No one. I'm not sane." He shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. "It's lonely in the Shack."

"Don't you have Dipper?" Pacifica asked him in confusion.

"No," he snapped. Taken aback by his hostility, Pacifica raised both her eyebrows. "No I do not."

For a moment, Pacifica looked like she couldn't grasp why he would say such a thing, before the obvious smacked her right in between the eyebrows. The confusion in her face shifted into pity, which was a thousand times worst than having to spell the situation out for her. "Oh, William..."

"Nevermind. It doesn't matter," Will said quickly. He wanted to change the subject as soon as possible. "So, what do you think? A couple hours without taking care of them could help you loads."

"Shouldn't you be asking Dipper and his family for permission first?" Pacifica laughed. "Fine. I trust you with them. For now, at least. But the Mystery Shack isn't only yours."

"Dipper'll get it. He'll convince the others too." He flashed her the flashiest smile. "So tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

Pacifica laughed, the stress in her voice no longer there. Her shoulders relaxed and her composure fell into causality. "You have no idea how much I wanted them off my chest," she said under her breath, shaking her head slightly. "But no, not tomorrow. They have a photo-shoot with the president on that day. Next week, probably, or sooner."

"Well, any day will good for me," Will beamed. Oh, just imagine all the things he could teach those kids! How to gut an animal, how to build a shelter out of bones, how to live off blood and carcasses of deer- just all the fun things he couldn't do with his own family! "Your kids will have a buncha fun with their Uncle William, lemme guarantee you that."

How Pacifica reacted wasn't what he hoped though. Her smile suddenly fell, like she just got the saddest news of her life. And once again, before Will could ask, she said what was on his mind. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was just...thinking about Mabel. About how much she would've loved to go fishing with them every Saturday or-" She cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable.

She looked up at him over her eyelashes, laughing to herself. It sounded practiced, like the posh laughter Will would usually hear from the groups of adults chatting over wine. "You'd think two years would make a person like me get over her, huh?" she chuckled. "But here I am, still wondering if all of this was just some big ol' joke she orchestrated..." she added miserably. 

"And it's my fault," Will said, just as sadly. The guilt that he felt the first time he had killed her suddenly came back, like a tide that would wash up everything on the sand. "I know you hate me, even if you're trying really hard to hide it. I could see it every time you look at me. No matter how many times I change the way I look, or how I act, or what my name is, you're always going to think of me as the guy who murdered the one you loved."

"William, I don't hate you," Pacifica sighed. "If anything, Mabel taught me not to keep grudges against people. And you know, everything else I know. And if she was here right now, she'd probably be telling me to let you braid my hair and do your makeup."

"Weirdly, that is the most accurate you could get with Mabel," Will laughed. A waiter passed by with a silver plate, carrying glasses of margarita. He took one without blinking, swiveling his finger in the drink. "And I don't think you need anyone telling you this, but Mabel still does love you, Pacifica."

Will would've thought she would have a breakdown, right then and there. But she didn't, and Will released a loosened breath. There were tears in her eyes, shining and ready to spill, but the girl didn't let them out. But the brunette, the one in a matching dress and with neat curly brown hair for such a formal party, was right behind her in case she did. Mabel smiled when Will caught sight of her, and pressed her finger to her lips. 

She sped away, to the direction Will knew the twins would commit their new mischief.

"It feels so good to finally talk about Mabel with someone who knows her as well as I do," Pacifica whispered.

"I don't think you could say that about me, Northwest."

"Are you kidding me? You were all she ever talked about for weeks straight!" Pacifica exclaimed, looking genuinely offended that Will would think such a thing. She cleared her throat, doing her best Mabel impression. And it was spot-on, to say the least. "Paz, a friend of mine needs a new fashion sense, pronto!', 'Paz, I'm going to take my new best friend Bill to the amusement park with us!', 'Paz, my brother and my best friend just kissed- talk about weird!', 'Paz, help me, my brother is legit in love with a demon!'"

Will's face fell. "She thinks I'm her best friend?"

Pacifica quirked an eyebrow at him. But her features softened, just a little, away from the annoyance on her face a moment ago. "You were the only one who ever made her brother be so happy in such a short time," she told him. "Of course she thought of you as her best friend."

He took a sip of the cocktail, feeling it climb down his throat like they were salted rocks. It just didn't sit well, even though margaritas were usually the highlights of his partying.

Instead of taking another heavy sip, he waited for a waiter to come by (which didn't take long at all), and placed it back on there to be served or thrown away. He played with the cuff of his suit to make it seem as if he wasn't going to start fidgeting, and watched the guests sway to the upbeat song the live classical band was playing. "Quite a band you let in here," he commented instead, because any talk of anything else would be enough to suffocate him more than the collar around his neck.

"Yeah? It costed me twice as much as last year," Pacifica said with a peaceful smile, completely oblivious to the downfall of his mood. She glanced at him for a moment, then back to the guests dancing around like they had no cares in the world. "It would be a little suspicious if I hang around here too much. I should come and check on the other guests here. You never know, one of them might finally catch my attention and I'd get married," Pacifica teased.

They both knew it was a lie. But regardless, Will smiled back at her. "Go ahead. I need to check on the guy I'm babysitting too."

Pacifica laughed. "Make sure he doesn't get alcohol poisoning this time. I had to call the ambulance before." She nudged his side, leaning over to his face unexpectedly. She planted a sloppy kiss on his face, exaggerating her "muah!" before walking away gracefully away to one of the few male guests looking a little bit too lonely to strike up a conversation. The few sips he took of the cocktail had reddened his face gradually, making it seem as if he was embarrassed of the sudden kiss on the cheek.

But Will only loosened the bow tie around his neck a little, sighing through his nose, only slightly bothered by Pacifica's etiquette. He stretched his neck from side to side, already feeling as if he's been there for half the day now. A part of him was starting to regret coming here.

But then he caught sight of Dipper nearly on the other side of the room, watching him with a wine glass in hand.

He perked up, legs already making their way over to the brunet like a dog being called by their name. The conversation starter was right on the tip of his tongue, but it was swallowed down the moment his eyes adjusted to the face of the man he was walking toward, and a frown formed its way on his cheery face.

Dipper was glaring at him, and his knuckles were so white around his glass that Will was afraid it would shatter.

"Before you say anything, it wasn't me," Will said to him the moment they got into speaking range. "I didn't ask the twins to do anything at all. They do it on their own accord like the maniacs they are and-"

"It's not that." Even the way he spoke sounded like Dipper was going to strangle him around the neck. Like Will had done when he was speaking to Miss Northwest, Dipper placed his glass in one of the large shiny silver plates coming around, with the only difference between Will's actions and his being his glass already deprived of the alcohol it once contained.

"Then what?" Will would've started shifting uncomfortably from how much Dipper was glaring at him.

"You know what you did," Dipper said distastefully.

Will raised an eyebrow, slowly and carefully. "You're sounding a lot like an accusing girlfriend who just caught their boyfriend texting another girl, Dipper."

"Do I?" Dipper asked, sounding genuinely taken aback. "Oh. Then sorry," he apologized. Add moodswings to the list of things that made Dipper sound like a teenaged girlfriend. That, and how Dipper was standing. Arms crossed, feet apart- he looked defensive and totally not sorry at all.

"Okay, jokes over," Will said with an eye roll. "Come on, you could stop looking like I committed murder and buried the victim in your front lawn, Dipper."

"I'm not!" Dipper argued. "I was just curious."

"About what?" he asked in exasperation.

"About what you were talking about with Pacifica!" Dipper answered almost mockingly. "Like..."

"Pacifica? Why would you be curious about what I was-" Will huffed. Then he paused, stopping dead, and looked over at Dipper incredulously. His frustration at Dipper's keep-away game turned into giddiness, like a little boy being told someone had a crush on him. Of course. Dipper would be the type of guy to act like this when things like _that_ happen.

"Wait, hold on." Will quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Are you _jealous_?"

"Why would I be jealous?!" Dipper snapped. One thing to note about Dipper Pines: when he got agitated, angry, or jealous, he almost always waves his arms around like crazy noodle sticks. One of those times were now.

"Then why get irritated by the fact that I was just dancing with an old friend?" Will practically chirped. "If anything, you should be happy I was talking to someone other than you, Dipper."

"I _am_!" Dipper said in exasperation. "All I'm saying is that- well, Pacifica _is_ a charming person, and she usually gets what she wants, so I just-"

"You think I'll fall heads over heels for her and vise versa and we'd get married the very next day?" Will guessed. He tried really hard not to laugh at the face Dipper made at him- a mix of surprise, defeat, and well- disgust. With a hint of jealousy. It was like watching a scene from a movie, with how much stunts Dipper was pulling off right now. "Tell me again, how is that _bad_?"

"Because she's-!" Dipper squeaked. He paused, blinking, before taking a deep breath. "Well, she's- I don't think-"

"See? Dippy's jealooooous," Will sang out.

"I am _not_!" he huffed. He might as well would have stomped his foot. "I'm just- caring for the wellbeing of you! You know, friend stuff!"

"I don't think friends get jealous by the fact that their own friend gets a number," Will mused. "If anything, they'd learn how to play the trumpet to play a victory march and waltz into their room like the kind friend they are."

"You got her _number_?!"

"Well, duh!" Will tried not to bark out a laugh at the awfully offended face Dipper made. It was like watching a child's carton of milk be taken away. "I need her number if she could reach out to me about taking care of the twins."

Dipper's ears flamed red. "I- oh..." He scratched his cheek, embarrassed. He refused to look Will in the eyes.

Then Will truly did laugh, louder than intended. Some folks turned their heads to look at what was so funny, only to be greeted by the sight of two young males fooling around near the wine table. Then they would turn away, muttering under their breaths and continuing on their dances or chats. Will could've sworn he heard one of them whisper to their friend about how absolutely ridiculous they were to show up just to fool around a rich person's party.

A familiar tune began to play by the expensively paid band, a tune he instantly recognized and started humming to. A jive song, fast and upbeat. Dipper gave him a look of confusion when he did so, and that only sparked his interest further.

"Dance with me?" He held out his hand, bowing slightly, eyes looking over his eyelashes with the kind of mischief only he could cook up.

"Oh, I don't dance," Dipper said gently, shaking his head.

"Too bad." Will grabbed him by the waist and wrist, right when the music started to become faster, sharper. Dipper didn't have time to complain, before he was sucked right into the middle of jolly dancers laughing and clinging to their partners like letting go would kill them. Not a single person was frowning.

"Will!" Dipper shouted over the laughing and the music.

Though he was screaming like he was about to die if he danced to the beat, he didn't let go of Will, who held him close to his own body like a shield. Will placed Dipper's hand on his own waist, two of their hands clasped together as they jived around the dance floor like teenagers on their fourth glass of wine. 

Instead of shouting yet again, Dipper whined, "How come you get to be the male?"

"The lead, darling," Will corrected. He twirled them out of the way of a merry old couple, just by a couple inches. "You said you didn't dance. So obviously I get to lead us, hmm?"

"I said I didn't dance, not I couldn't!" Dipper complained.

"Fine. Do you wanna lead then, if you're so butt-hurt?" Will grunted.

"Uh..."

Will let out an airy laugh, dragging Dipper further into the abyss of the dance floor. Dipper let him, eyes wide with uncertain terror and mouth trying to form words to call their dancing off. But as much as his eyes said he didn't want to, he didn't speak them out.

A few steps became into two. A twirl became into five. Dipper's chuckles turned into giggles, which turned into laughter, which turned into smiles and relaxed bodies. The music carried on, fast and careful and wonderful.

Their hearts beat to the drums of the songs, to the steps of their feet. They got lost in them, forgetting, even for a moment, that friends shouldn't be this close. That friends don't smile like the way they do and hold each other like letting go was a crime. That one of them shouldn't be fantasizing about kissing the other and having them all to himself. It was so wrong, in every way, but it felt right, just because it did and just because Will wanted it to.

Their energetic steps turned into slower ones. The band's power turned into something slower, grander. The jives and upbeat songs they played turned into ones the guests requested, to the ones that were completely bland and distasteful.

Yet Dipper and William refused to move, and danced until their breathing were labored and their feet ached harder than walking eighty miles. Their hearts were thumping hard, and Will, personally, couldn't tell if it was from dancing so much or from being so close to the one he was drifting apart from. And while he refused to move, Dipper was outright denying them from resting. They didn't move, not because they didn't want to stop dancing. They didn't move because they didn't want to stop the miraculous spell cast over their heads like magic.

The band stopped, changing their music to songs that would please the older, maturer audience. But with the brass playing, and violins arranging in a way that was unmistakable, Will felt like a little kid again.

" _If the sun should tumble from the sky, if the sea should suddenly run dry,_ " he sang quietly, head dipping down to look straight into Dipper's eyes over his own eyelashes. " _If you love me, really love me. Let it happen, I won't care_." It made his voice crack.

Dipper's hand placed itself right under his shoulder blade, brow furrowed together. They swayed, like a couple during a slow dance at prom. Will smiled at him, licking his lips. Dipper gently pulled them to a new spot, his own arms gripping Dipper's bicep and hand. The brunet seemed to be the one taking the lead this time, but there was no shyness in his face, no timidity, when Dipper let them waltz to the flow of the song.

_If it seems that everything is lost, I should smile and never count the cost. If you love me, really love me, let it happen, darling, I won't care._

" _Shall I catch a shooting star_?" Again, his voice cracked, for several reasons that did not include vocal strain. Dipper smiled a little when Will sang, like he enjoyed it when Will did. And that only let Will sing even more, even louder. "Shall I bring it where you are? If you want me to, I will. You can set me any task, I'll do anything you ask- if you'll only love me still," Will whispered.

Dipper's face softened. And Will only saw him. Not the people dancing around, not the band, not the twins, not Mabel- only Dipper and his brown eyes that reflected the heartbreak on his own face.

" _When at last our life on earth is through, I shall share eternity with you_ ," Will sang softly. " _If you love me, really love me. Then whatever happens, I won't care_."

Dipper swallowed, eyes glancing behind Will and over his head and everywhere he could get himself to look at. Anywhere that didn't have Will's face.

Will had thought he had scared the poor guy off, until Dipper began to smile. Just a little. "You're a fan of Vera Lynn, aren't you?" Dipper laughed softly in his ear.

"What gave it away?" He laughed right back, acting giddy as teenagers on their first date.

"No millennial would sing a song from Vera Lynn, William."

"True, true." He hummed to himself, back to the tune of the song he was singing, rocking them back and forth. "But I guess I just like her lyrics, you know? If something relates to you, you're bound to grow attached," he whispered softly. And it was completely true. At least for him.

"You know you're just making me feel more and more guilty the more you talk about your feelings for me, right?" Dipper laughed. But he sounded serious. And guilty. And sad.

He smiled, just as little as Dipper had. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. You can't just stop loving someone, even if you tell yourself you're not anymore." And then Dipper looked at him, straight in the eyes with one look that made William's insides turn into goo. The same look Dipper used to give him, every single time the kid looked over, even when he didn't realize it. 

It was love. Love that Bill Cipher neglected and thought he lost for good.

And now here he was, dancing with Dipper much too close and intimately. Because of it, he couldn't help himself but lean in, the invisible leash around his heart tightening inconsiderately. Dipper was only smiling, oblivious to the hundreds upon hundreds of thoughts and feelings going through Will's head like clockwork.

"Hey, do you wanna know a secret?" Will whispered in his ear.

Dipper looked like he was holding back a laugh. "W- what?"

"I really do love you, Dipper."

Will expected Dipper to laugh, to say something along the lines of, "You told me you were going to tell me a _secret,_ " or even "I know."

And finally having the courage, Will looked at him straight in the eyes and smiled, after realizing that Dipper didn't make a sound of complaint or laughter in a long time. Dipper's mouth formed a small 'o', brow pulled together, and whole face looked like he was smacked right between the eyes.

Their swaying came to a sudden halt.

It didn't take a genius to know what had happened.

Will reeled back and blinked, the spell above them officially broken. His actions would never go without consequences, and he found himself wishing he never said them. He found himself wishing that he could take them back and stuff them in his mouth, washing out his mouth with soap a dozen times until the bitter taste of it was gone.

"Did I scare you?" Will tried his best not to frown. "Look, I know I said it all of a sudden, but that was just to make you squirm a little. You know me-"

"No." Dipper gulped, shaking his head. He looked panicked. Cornered with nowhere to go. "That- that isn't it. Will, I- I'm sorry, I just...I think I need some air." He was mumbling his words now, eyes darting all around the party like prey trying to find a way out.

He was still holding onto Will's sleeve like a lifeline. Will let him.

"Pine Tree-"

He finally let go of the sleeve. And while it wasn't a big deal, to Dipper or to the world or even to him, Will felt like Dipper was slipping away- all over again.

And Dipper must've seen the despair in his eyes, the words forming on his mouth, the panic that made all his muscles go tense, because Dipper wasted no time to calm him down. "You can come find me as soon as you want, alright? I just need a drink."

He gave Will one look -something between the mix of panic and confusion, the same exact emotions Will was feeling- and had left the dance floor faster than Will could register that his face was warmer than taking five shots of whiskey all at once.

* * *

It wasn't a surprise to hear, a couple hours later, that Dipper had gone into a room and hid himself from the party for all this time.

And it wasn't quite that much a surprise that, well- it was the same room Bill had made out with Pacifica all those years ago. William was just surprised Pacifica herself didn't call for the room to be destroyed with a wrecking ball.

It took him about one and a half hour to calm himself down from the wine and food to finally make his way to meet with Dipper. And another hour (or two or three) to locate him, with the help of Pacifica's staff who directed him to this very room he stood in front, hand on the doorknob.

He caught himself wondering if Dipper had done the very same thing he was, standing here stupidly and reeling over his thoughts, before opening this door to a sight that broke him in two. And, paranoid or not, Will wondered if the world would be cruel enough to give him karma for that very moment.

But his face hardened, and he reminded himself that the moment he was dreading probably happened millions of times. Damon with his hair tangled in Dipper's hair, Damon on top of him while they made out, Damon being the one to hear him moan, Damon being the one told that he was who Dipper was in love with-

William twisted the doorknob.

"You okay in here?" Will asked him. He shut the door with a soft click, watching Dipper almost warily. And thankfully, no black-haired boyfriend making out with him furiously. Just him hunched over the red velvet love seat. "I know you're not the party type, but you could at least chat those women up by the wine table. You never know, you might score yourself a number."

"I'm fine," Dipper mumbled, eye still on his glass prototype he pulled out of his own eye socket. His elbows rested on his knees, and he only looked up for a second to glance at Will. "Got bored out there?" he asked kindly.

"No." He looked down at the eye Dipper held in between his forefinger and thumb, just for two seconds, before he looked back up at the man whom the eye belonged to. "I was looking for you, actually. Gets a little unnerving if your companion's been gone for an hour more or less and they're known for being a lightweight with alcohol."

"Hey, I could probably drink more wine than you," Dipper argued. He straightened his back, finally looking up at Will with brows pulled together. There was a slight smile to the edge of his lips, the only indication that he was fine. "Years of correcting papers and pulling all-nighters could do that to a man."

Will chuckled. "Sure," he said sarcastically.

Dipper gave him a look, before blinking once and rolling his eye in between his fingers. He stuffed the glass into his empty socket, pulling the eyelid down with his other hand to let it in. Then, satisfied with where his eye was positioned, he blinked once and looked over at Will's blank look.

"Sorry, did that freak you out?" Dipper asked him apologetically. "Grunkle Stan used to joke that I should do that during parties because of how freaky it was."

"Well, guess where we are, Pines," Will drawled. He outstretched his arms, shaking his wrists like they were jazz hands while he bared his teeth happily. He looked like he was presenting himself in the most sarcastic way in the world. "Ta da! A _party_!"

"Don't get sassy with me." Dipper rolled his eyes, scooting over to the farthest end of the couch. "If you're not going anywhere, might as well chat up with the most boring guy in Gravity Falls, right?"

"Who, Tad Strange?" Will fake-gasped. "He may be boring but at least he won't tell me how to clean out an eyeball for two hours."

One nasty look, and Will put his hands up to his chest in defense. He began making his way over to Dipper, grumbling, "Okay, okay, sheesh! I was just joking..."

Plopping himself against the other end of the couch, Will began loosening up his tie. There was a good five inches in between them, space in which Dipper noticed almost immediately. He looked down at the empty air, then looked up at Will with an unamused look.

"Will ya stop looking at me like I'm doing everything wrong?" Will groaned.

"That's probably because you _are._ "

"Wow," he grumbled.

"Will, just get over here." Dipper rolled his eyes.

William did what was asked, happily and warily scooting closer to Dipper's side. After what happened, he didn't want to break any more boundaries than he already had. For all he knew, Dipper probably would've whipped out his phone the moment Will said that, reporting what had happened to his angered boyfriend.

"You wanted to explore Gravity Falls, didn't you?" Dipper rolled his head to look over at him. Curiously.

"As long as it was with you, yes." Damn it. Someone should just kill him now.

Dipper only smiled at his response, rolling back his head to look at the paintings in front of him. Landscapes and trees, mostly. They weren't even remotely interesting. That, and one of them was an exact copy of the whole of Gravity Falls, familiar and somehow...odd.

In fact, it looked like the drawn copy of the map he drew for Dipper.

Dipper cleared his throat, like he knew Will was looking at it. "My...ex drew it for me," Dipper croaked out. "The only thing I kept that reminded me of him, really. Even though I don't remember much about him, I...I feel like I want to toss him in a lake of piranhas then feed the remains to lions." He laughed, but it came out bitter.

"What made it so special?" Will said softly.

"It helped me sell my first book. About the supernatural of Gravity Falls." Dipper shook his head. "People shelved the book as fiction and I'm not mad. And anyway, I think I have the perfect place I could take you." He changed the subject about his ex faster than Will could comprehend.

And before Will could speak, Dipper was speaking rapidly now. Excitedly. "My Grunkles have a boat we could take. They named it the Stan O' War. It's old and a little unstable, but we could manage as long as we take my Grunkles with us. I could even take you to meet Mermando, he's this friendly guy I met after I almost stopped some girl from taking him away from the pool. After that, maybe the bunker would be a nice finishing touch to a day at sea. There's..."

William tuned him out, taking off the disregarded ring on his finger and turning the cool metal all around his fingers like he's done trillions of times. It helped him stay calm, to ward off the voices that finally came back into his head.

The ones that whispered, hissed, and muttered discouragement. That he blew his chance with getting close to Dipper. That Dipper walked away because Will was being too obsessive. That Will wasn't good enough. That Will was nothing. That Dipper hates him, that Dipper will never ever love him, that Dipper was too broken, too clueless, too...

Something slithered around his abdomen, not too tight but not too soft. Right after that, something pressed against his back and side, like a warm blanket on a winter night. Will almost stopped twirling his ring in between his fingers when he realized that Dipper was indeed, _in fact_ , hugging him from the side and behind.

Will swallowed the bile in his throat, pulling the ring back onto his finger. But then a nimble hand reached out, thumb running over the cold metal of the ring.

"I really like your ring," Dipper mumbled. He played with the ring, twisting it around Will's finger mindlessly.

"I could get you one like this if you really like it," Will offered.

"No. You don't have to do that." Dipper hesitated. "It looks...really good on you. And I mean, really...good," he added, each word becoming quieter and quieter. As if he was embarrassed to say them. As if hugging Will wasn't the problem.

Will let out a soft laugh, watching Dipper play with his ring on his finger like a cat playing with a toy. His mind felt like it was beginning to short-circuit, but his brain was kind enough to allow him to speak one coherent sentence. "So...why are you hugging me?" he asked, voice almost reaching up another octave.

"Sorry. Is this weird?" Dipper said hesitantly. The one arm slung around his waist was beginning to stiffen and come away. "Sometimes I get touchy-feely with things, so..."

"I'm alright." Will shrugged. "As long as you don't push me down to the couch and suddenly make out with me, I won't start fumbling with my words, promise," he teased.

Dipper let out an airy laugh. "The day I make out with you is the day I see you murder a man."

"I want to see that money up front, Pines."

Then they laughed, like nothing had happened between them just a couple hours ago. That they were okay and they were friends that had nothing to hide from each other. Absolutely nothing.

It was Dipper who spoke this time, and the question was so abrupt, so sudden, that Will had to take a minute to let it settle in his brain.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Why ask that?" No one ever asks that question without a reason.

"I don't know." And sometimes those reasons were better to be kept to themselves.

"You know I'm not good at being sentimental, right?" he laughed. He was lying. He loved being romantic. He loved being romantic _to_ Dipper. But saying it outright, saying how it felt to be in love and for Dipper to realize it sounded exactly like how he acted towards him, it was just too much to ask for. Even for Will.

"So?" Dipper challenged.

"Love is pain," he blurted out, just because it was. It was painful, white-hot pain. "Both the good and the bad. You love a person so much that no matter how much you try to avoid it, it hurts you. And even if you're not sadistic, or psychotic, or like pain in general, you absolutely love it. Why? Because-" His voice faltered, just by a few words, "-because you'd rather hurt yourself than hurt them. You'd stab yourself a million times than see them cry. You'd do anything to let them be happy, even if that meant they'd hate you, or forget you, or wish you were dead, or..." Will closed his eyes.

"Would you dream about losing them?" Dipper whispered. "And have nightmares about...?" He didn't need to finish it.

"Every night," Will admitted.

They grew quiet. Cuddled on a love seat like it was the most natural thing in the world with arms tangled around each other. As if staying quiet, and letting the music outside do the talking was the most natural thing to do. The band outside was playing Vera Lynn and Ella Fitzgerald like calming morning tea.

And Will found himself singing those same lyrics again, quiet and sad and sorrowful. Different from the way he carried the tune with happiness and delight. " _If you love me, really love me,_ " he sang quietly.

" _Then whatever happens, I won't care_ ," Dipper finished for him. Hushed and genuinely. Dipper wasn't just singing those words- he meant them. Will buried his head in his neck, holding him close. And forced his heart to stop beating.

But it never stopped, because you cannot you can't just stop loving someone, even if you tell yourself you're not anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, poor William. I just really stop torturing him, hmm? Nah. At least not yet. He gets a pass next chapter though (cough cough, shameless fluFF-). So wait until that o(*^▽^*)o. Thanks for all ze kudos and comments, together with your awesomeness, you brought this fic out from the dead! (:3｣∠)_


	20. Live My Dreams, I'll Live Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Insert Elmo with fire in the background GIF here* let the fluFF AND RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT GAMES BEGIN.

_"Friends just sleep in another bed,_   
_And friends don't treat me like you do._   
_Well I know that there's a limit to everything,_   
_But my friends won't love me like you._   
_No, my friends won't love me like you._   
_But then again, if we're not friends,_   
_Someone else might love you too._   
_And then again, if we're not friends,_   
_There'd be nothing I could do, and that's why."_

**[Friends | Ed Sheeran](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Myaod6GC4U) **

* * *

****"Oh my God. Go _faster._ Faster, William!" Dipper moaned.

"I'm not even _in_ yet!"

"What?! Then hurry up, do you even know what's going to happen if-?!"

"I know, I know!" Will wailed. "I just don't know how to run with a _Wii_!" **  
**

To prove his point, he swung his remote hard, nearly hitting a vase in the process. He missed the tennis ball completely, causing Damon in the background to cackle like the Wicked Witch of the East. He didn't even bother sticking up his middle finger for the fifth time during this one round.

"Will, oh my God," Dipper groaned. The screen told them that he had won, yet again. He unwrapped the Wii's strap out of his wrist and placed the remote on the coffee table, sitting down beside Damon in exhaustion. "I haven't seen someone play Wii Sports so competitively but so badly in years."

Damon snickered, offering his boyfriend his spoon full of macaroni. Dipper simply opened his mouth, hands folded over his stomach. Damon spooned it in for him. 

Will, just as tired as Dipper was, collapsed on the floor in a heap in front of the TV, too lazy to get to a couch himself. "Best two of three?" he asked hopefully in between his pants. There was a bowl of popcorn next to him, and he took it without even looking. It was a miracle they haven't spilled popcorn all over the carpet by this point.

"Will, I've won like, sixteen times already," Dipper pointed out. "Best two out of three is way out of context here."

"That was just because you're an expert at American games!" Will whined, waving his remote around like a flag. "I didn't even know you could play virtual reality _tennis_! Do you know how much this has changed my perspective in life?! What else could this civilization be hiding, a game of bowling in a _computer_?"

"Actually-" Before he could get the rest of his words out, Damon was mercilessly hit in the gut with Dipper's elbow. "I almost choked on a macaroni!" he whined in the same tone as Will.

"I am literally taking care of two kindergartners," Dipper sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. 

"Two preschoolers, if you... _will,_ " Will said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He sat cross-legged on the floor, hands wrapped around his feet to keep them together. He truly seemed like a toddler sitting like that, and the look on Dipper's face only seemed to confirm it. That, or he was just exasperated from Will's Will Puns for the sixth time in that one lone hour.

Damon only spooned more macaroni into his mouth, being careful to make sure none of the cheesy goodness stained his new business suit. One that Will commented on having it be the oddest length on Damon's size and the complete wrong color for his loafers. Charcoal black certainly does _not_ look good with burgundy. That or nothing goes well with Damon in general.

"Why do you keep staring at me like that?" Damon asked him suspiciously, catching his disgusted look.

"Because you look like you're going to my grandmother's funeral."

Damon made a face when Dipper began to laugh. Dipper saw the look on his face and only laughed even harder, taking Damon's macaroni without the boy's consent to place it on the stand beside him. He patted Damon on the thigh reassuringly, placing a kiss on the idiot's cheek when Damon's face only seemed to get worst and worst, like he was sucking on a lemon.

"Well, he still looks cute going to your grandmother's funeral then, Will," Dipper purred.

Damon grinned, no longer seeming pissed for having his bowl of cheesy gooey macaroni taken away.

"Hey, I could be _way_ cuter with a suit!" Will complained.

"Sure you would," Dipper said sarcastically.

"Don't jinx it, Dip," Damon said, sarcasm dripping from his tone as much as it was with Dipper's. "He might find a tailor just to serenade you in a sparkly new suit while I'm gone in North Dakota."

"What, in the span of twenty-four hours?" Will snorted. "If I wanted to serenade your boyfriend, I would've done so a long time ago without the help of a stupid suit."

" _Speaking_ of North Dakota," Dipper butted in, giving his boyfriend a look when Damon opened his mouth, a snarky reply on the edge of his tongue. "When are you even supposed to go?"

Damon shot Will one last look, before turning his soft gaze to Dipper like the actor he was. Will scowled darkly. "In an hour. Gotta get to the airport to meet with Wendy in ten. Can't be too sure to go early, right?" he chuckled. He brought his feet up to the coffee table, pulling out his phone to check the time. "Plus, we're taking that girl with us. You know, the one who exploded the lava lamp?"

"Why bring an employee?" Will blurted out. "You're not making any sense with taking two people with you in another state just to overlook a new artifact."

Damon shot him a look, and Will glared at him right back. Dipper seemed helpless sitting there, eyes flickering between them with eyebrows raised like he expected one of them to jump on the other to initiate a cat fight. But they didn't, just so they seemed well-behaved in front of the only guy to they cared about to seem like that. "It's a _statue,_ " Damon hissed out. He quirked an eyebrow at Will, almost mockingly. "Unless your brain is so small that you can't do the math and realize how many people it would take to carry a human sized replica of the Sasquatch from one state to the other?"

"Where are you gonna put it when you're going to that hotel?" Will said innocently. "Overnight, you said? Seems like to me you just want to be far away from this place as possible."

"That's enough," Dipper said calmly, slamming a pillow into Damon's gut when he tried to stand up. To strangle Will, probably. "Will, stop bullying my boyfriend. You're acting like a five year old."

"Ha!" Damon laughed.

"And Damon, stop shooting Will death glares. Your face is going to stay like that for the rest of your life."

"HA!" Will laughed harder, pointing his finger at Damon.

"I'm done," Damon groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. "Look, it's already eleven-fifteen. My flight leaves at twelve-thirty. I gotta go unless I want Wendy to nag me all the way through security." He looked over at Dipper, his facial features gradually softening.

Before Will could turn away and belch, Damon pressed his lips against Dipper's, whispering, "I'll come back as soon as I can. Call me when something happens."

Dipper nodded mutely, standing as still as a statue from where he was. Then Damon kissed him again, whispering something too quiet for Will to even understand, and turned away to the door. He slammed his trademark hat onto his head, pulling an arm into his heavy coat, and gave Will a death glare worst than ever before. He mouthed, "Do something to him and you die."

Will grinned at him, not saying a word, causing Damon to scowl deeply and shake his head. Damon said goodbye, and walked out of the door. He was followed by a honk, one that Will could only assume came from an impatient Wendy.

Will only relaxed when he heard Wendy's car drive away, shoulders hunching and his breath being force out of him. He looked over at Dipper.

The poor guy was looking out of where Damon was last seen, arms crossed over his chest and eyes clouded over as if he was deep in thought. His lips were tugged down in a frown.

It didn't take a genius to know why he seemed so depressed.

"So...best two out of three?" Will squeaked, holding up his Wii remote.

"Is he gone?" Stanley grunted, rounding the corner like a magician. He looked around, whooping before any of them could respond to his sudden magical appearance. "Aha! He is! Now, which one of you kids want to help two old men with crippling depression to clean the love of their life, a boat?" He rubbed his hands together deviously.

"Stanley, don't force the kids!" Ford called from the hallway.

"Grunkle Ford, Grunkle Stan, Will and I are _adults,_ " Dipper groaned. He finally snapped out of his trance when Stan came in, back straightening and arms unfolding by his sides.

Stan went over, stealing Will's bowl of popcorn without a second glance and coming right over to his whiny grandnephew. He rubbed Dipper's hair affectionately, sitting down on his old chair with a groan of content. "Well, kids? The first to clean the poop deck gets all of the money in my... _will_ ," he chuckled.

"Aye," Will grinned, pointing finger-guns at Stanley for the unintentional pun. Stanley did it right back.

Dipper groaned at their exchange.

"Watch it, Dip. Your unofficial-official boyfriend is winning," Stan pointed out.

"My unofficial- what?" Dipper said incredulously.

"Unofficial-official boyfriend," Will sang. He opened his mouth, pointing at it. Stan launched a popcorn right into his mouth. "It means that we're dating- _unofficially-officially._ "

Dipper rolled his eyes when his Grunkle laughed. "The prospect of dating you can only be in your dreams, Will."

"Why, of course," Will said courteously. "If only you do the same, my love," he said in a horrible English accent. Stan looked like he was enjoying their exchange way too much to change the Wii menu to a baby fighting channel.

"With a chainsaw? Sure."

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Stan laughed. "William just wants some good ol' flirting."

Dipper suddenly looked confused. "He was flirting with me?"

"Oh, bless your heart," Ford said sarcastically, turning up in the same doorway Stan came through. He looked a little disgruntled, standing there with a bucket of dead fished that reeked horribly. No one in the room seemed even slightly fazed. Because A) they were Pines and they've been on the Stan O' War and its mess of dead carcasses or B) William was William.

"Hey, who told you that you could come up in this household and start talking like Fiddleford?" Stan groaned.

Ford shrugged, setting the bucket down to the floor and thankfully did not spill it. "I was playing cards with him yesterday." His tone changed, eyes narrowing right where his twin lazily sat with his beer belly. "And right before I asked a certain brother of mine to clean up the boat too. I come back the next day and _it still smells like Ma's cooking._ "

"Yeesh Poindexter, you don't have to be so rude towards our own dead mother," Stan said with a roll of his eyes. "Just ask Will and Dipper to do it. They're young. And you know- might help us push the bet even farther?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Further, Stanley," Ford corrected. "But yes, it would help, but-"

"Come on, Poindexter," Stan complained. He threw a popcorn at his brother's shoulder. "If all else fails, we could lock them in a closet and forced them to-"

"Oookay, you already got me with the first Will pun," Will interrupted, just for Dipper's sake. "Where do we start?"

"The first pun of many, Willy," Stan grinned. "In fact it _will_ only get you farther into the game of mine the more puns you make. Even if it's...a _sea-_ able pun in this _boat_ -iful boat."

"Further!" Ford said in annoyance. "And Stan, they makes no absolute-"

"Does that mean I could...fire at _will_ with any puns?" Will drawled.

"Oh no," Ford and Dipper groaned.

Stanley laughed with Will, standing up shakily from his comfortable seat. He ruffled Will's hair when he passed him on the floor. He called for Ford to come with him so they could untie the boat from the dock, and Ford followed suit, sighing and picking up the bucket of rotten fish. Ford told the duo that they could come to the docks in a few, whenever they feel like it, while he and his brother argue some more in private.

"I better see those bucks up front, Ford," they heard Stan grunt out with a slight edge of amusement.

"They haven't even kissed yet, Stanley."

" _Still._ "

Dipper looked over at Will, a strange look on his face. "Are they making bets on...?" He trailed off.

Will made a face. "Knowing them, I wouldn't be surprised if they were placing bets on whether or not you would top during our first time." But not even a heartbeat later, Will turned to look straight at Dipper with a poker face. "But hey, I once heard a joke about amnesia, but I forgot how it-"

" _William_."

"Sorry."

* * *

"EN GARDE!" Will shouted, taking a fencing position right in front of Dipper. He touched the tip of his mop to Dipper's chest, forcing the brunet to look down, then back up at him in unamusement.

"Will, for the last time, I'm not going to play swords with you," he deadpanned.

"Why not?" Will groaned, relaxing his posture and letting the tip of the mop to fall to the ground. "It feels like we've been mopping this stupid deck for _ever._ "

"Suck it up, Willy!" Stan yelled from the main deck. "There's barnacles left to be cleaned from the sides too! You keep complaining and I'll dangle you by your feet to clean them off!"

Will scowled at his words, flipping the mop so that the actual end to clean with was touching the ground. A few sprinkles of soap water splattered Dipper's shirt and body, momentarily stunning the other with a blink. Then Dipper gave Will his best death glare, shaking his head to force the tiny specks out of his curly hair just in case. It reminded Will of a dog.

And with that in mind, Will only grinned, and said, "Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all, though.

Dipper shook his head, dipping ( _ahem_ ) his mop in a bucket of soapy water and dumping it right back on the floor. He scrubbed the edges of the bow like his life depended on it. It kinda did. Stan didn't promise him his money, but more like Ford's basement, for when Ford passes away. Ford quickly agreed to it, and Will had never seen someone scrub down a sail boat as fast as Dipper Pines was.

Meanwhile, Little Bear and Chip had found their way on the deck of the Stan O' War, chasing each other around. Except this time, they were playing, and didn't look like they were after each other's blood. 

They brought their pets along to Stan's insistence, claiming that fresh air for the dog and the cat would calm their bad blood between each other. Dipper even brought a first aid kit just in case. They didn't need it. If anything, they needed the first aid kit for Will more than their own pets.

Will turned to look at him, a grin lighting up his face. So far, in the past few hours, he's been either making boat puns or actually mopping the floor. There was no in between. "See? If they could get along, so could we," he beamed.

"Will, we've been getting along since we first met," Dipper reminded him. He had paused from his mopping, looking up at him curiously while he stayed crouched.

"Well, then after future arguments then!" Will argued.

Dipper snickered, nudging Will's side with his mop. "I don't think one argument could make me hate you, Will."

"I'm swooning."

"I'll catch you in my arms and kiss you with tongue involved then."

"Oh look, I have fainted from how romantic you are."

"Damn straight you have. I'm the guy of everyone's fucking dreams."

"Not quite," Will hummed. "You are in _mine,_ but I don't think you are in a whole room of daycare kids like I am," he sang with an innocent lilt.

"Yeah? At least I wasn't told, 'you draw worst than my two year old sister'," Dipper mused.

"Look, art isn't my thing, alright?! So what if my apples look like dicks!" Will threw his arms up in frustration. Pausing, he looked over at Dipper, and a corner of his lips quirked up. Before Dipper could comment on the creepy look Will was throwing at him, Will said, "I bet your dick's bigger though."

"Will, you are _an adult,_ not four." Dipper smacked the back of his leg. He sounded like a mother. Actually, Dipper's been sounding like a mother since they freaking met, anyway.

Recovering quickly, Will only laughed and nudged Dipper's side as an act of pure revenge. "But what if I'm not an adult? I'm basically five years old!"

"A toddler trapped in a model's body. How tragic," Dipper said sarcastically.

Will almost snickered at his comment, before that same comment finally passed through his thick head. He raised his eyebrows slowly. "Did you just call me a model?" he mused.

Well that was unexpected.

Dipper, who was wiping the spots where his cat and Will's dog were tracking mud, paused mid-wipe. His eyes went wide, and his Awkward Dipper Stammers commenced. "W- well, you're not bad looking for a gay- guy! Guy man- guy dude- person, or-" From sarcastic asshole to a stammering mess in exactly three point two seconds. Sweet, new record.

"Dipper, stop acting like you told me you want to have explicit butt sex," Will snickered. "It's alright to admit I'm hot. I mean, have you seen all the chicks I could get with flexing on the street?" He did a stupid demonstration. Then he grinned even more stupidly at Dipper, and added, "Plus, you telling me you want to do exactly that would make me quite...ecstatic, honestly." He winked. Well, it certainly wasn't a lie.

The redness in Dipper's cheeks diminished almost immediately, and he shook his head. "Your god complex is a huge turn-off though," he grumbled under his breath.

"It's called having good self-esteem!" Will argued.

"THE BOTH OF YOU BETTER STOP FLIRTING UP THERE, OR ELSE I'M COMING DOWN AND-!" Stan bellowed from the lower quarters.

"I thought you _wanted_ us to flirt!" Will shouted right back. Dipper raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wha-? Oh. Right." Stan paused. "There's a room downstairs that has sound isolation, there's some vegetable oil under the cupboards if you can't find any lube, and a do not disturb sign in-"

" _Stanley_!" Ford shrieked.

Dipper sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He kept mopping the floor, but looked up at Will briefly in apology. "Don't mind my Great Uncles, they're getting way too old to know their own limits."

"Well..." Will shrugged. "Your uncle has the left... _hook_ in this situation."

Dipper groaned, stomping on his foot angrily. Will only danced away, laughing and leaving a trail of water in his wake with his mop. "William, you are on the top of my fucking _hit list,_ " Dipper threatened.

"That is an empty threat and we both know it, Pines," Will sang. He shot a finger gun at Dipper. "You know I'm only doing this to _fish_ for compliments, right?"

A dead trout was thrown at his head. " _Stop_!" Dipper whined.

"Could you be a little more _Pacific_?" Will joked, barely dodging the smelly fish. "What exactly do I stop? C'mon Pines, you already took my _bait._ You're just a little _crabby_ today! You don't need to act so...barra- _cruel_ -da."

" _WILLIAM_!"

"Seeing you look so cute is _kraken_ me up."

"What are you talking about?!"

"You mean... _water you docking aboat_ ," Will corrected wisely.

Laughter came from downstairs, from the cockpit, probably. Then Stan shouted, "Good one, Will! Fifty points!" before Ford hit him over the head loudly. The boat tipped over slightly to the side from the wind, forcing Dipper to slide to the boat's bow rail. He screamed in the process, something between a girl's screech and a ghoul's.

That made Will laugh louder, since he had the sense to grab onto one of the ropes. He almost witnessed Dipper flipping over the railing. 

"I- I can't think of any more boat puns," he said in between his laughter. Dipper's miserable face perked up. But then Will paused, and continued, "Canoe?"

He laughed even harder now, watching Dipper's face shift from confusion to disgust. He had to wrap his arms around his stomach, his legs failing him and his knees almost causing to give out. Man, he just _loved_ puns when it came to things like this. The best chaotic good to annoy someone is with puns, obviously!

Though Dipper didn't looked annoyed.

He just turned away, almost solemnly, and braced himself on the edge of the boat while it rocked underneath their feet. Sure, the boat didn't take off to the great seven seas just yet, just floating a few feet away from land, but that didn't stop the current from letting it sway. 

"Oh." Will blinked, his cackling laughter fading away into concern. He put his mop against a tall pole, praying that it would stay like that. "Do you get sea sick?"

"Sea sick?" Dipper looked genuinely confused. His hands fiddled with the old stains stuck to the wooden edge. Sure, over the years the Stan O' War got better, but Will could tell the boat had seen better days than this. The telescope on the top of their cabin was tipping downwards, almost depressingly. "I've been on this boat more times than I can count, Will. I'm pretty sure I'm immune to sea sickness now," he admitted.

Will's eyes drifted away from the old telescope to his friend. Still concerned by the sudden change of mood in Dipper's posture and aura, Will walked over to him, their work of mopping the main floor abandoned. The steering wheel was right next to Dipper, no captain to control the boat. Both of the Stans were by the stern, working on something in the back with the motor. With how quiet they had become, Will could hear the two yelling at each other like sailors. Chip and Dip were nowhere to be found.

"Oookay, no more puns," Will said quickly. He leaned over the edge, sidling up beside Dipper. "Puns are bad. Puns make Dipper sad. Not gonna risk it again, sailor's promise."

"Scout's promise," Dipper corrected with a snort. He scratched a piece of shredded wood off the boat, nose wrinkled in slight disgust. "I need to tell Grunkle Ford to polish this thing again. They never clean this unless this boat was close to death," he added under his breath.

Will nudged his side. It caught Dipper's attention, and he looked up at Will in surprise, like he just realized that Will had edged up right beside him. That few seconds of confusion was all Will needed, and he saw Dipper's real emotions. A mix of sadness and guilt. 

"Did something happen?" Will asked him in concern. Dipper was being extra moody today- he just didn't figure out why until Dipper started rambling, like a switch being turned on.

"Damon never leaves without me," Dipper blurted out. His cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink, the only indication of his embarrassment of spilling out all of his feelings with Will. "If he wanted to go out somewhere, even just to the next town over, he'd always bring me along. I thought it didn't mean a big deal _now,_ but- I asked him if I could go, just out of curiosity and because I didn't have work, and he blew me off. So I just thought..." He stopped to take a deep breath, eyes wild and frantic.

He saw the look on Will's face, and his own cheeks flamed with further embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to spill it out on you," Dipper apologized quietly.

"I'm glad you did," Will assured him with a careless shrug. Because it was true. "So because of that, you think he's...?"

"Losing interest in me? Doesn't trust me? Doesn't care anymore? Yeah," Dipper sighed. He dropped his hand away from his neck, letting it droop by his side. Then he brought his elbows up to the edge, letting it rest on the boat. Will mirrored him. "I mean, I should expect that from a long-term relationship at one point or another, but-"

"If he really liked you, he would've never let you think that he didn't, whether it was for dating for five days or five years," Will said. He tried not to bring the bitter taste in his mouth to his words. "I know you care about him. I'm pretty sure he does too. So what's the problem, Dipper?"

Dipper laughed humorlessly, bringing his head down. His shoulders shook from laughter, even if the situation wasn't funny at all. "I'm being stupid, I know," Dipper said, words muffled. "But is it bad to just want him to pay attention to me all of the time, or...?"

"Of course not," Will answered simply. "If Damon was me, I would never let you -or whoever I was dating- to be starved of attention. Seven years of dating, seventeen, or seventy, I would bring home flowers and pepper you with kisses and tell you I love..." He stopped himself dead.

"That you love me?" Dipper looked over at him. There wasn't judgement in his eyes. Just curiosity. "Will, you've dated someone before, haven't you?"

"Of course." _Countless upon countless of times,_ Will wanted to tell him. _But you were the only one I loved within a million._

"So you know what it's like to doubt... _things_ in the relationship, right?" Dipper said hesitantly. 

A surge of excitement coursed through him. It was wrong to get hopeful over Dipper's misery, but he just couldn't help it. Was he saying that he wanted to break up with...? "Yes," he blurted out. Only because it was the only word he could get out by this point.

Dipper still looked hesitant, but by the way he kept talking, he was starting to open up. Will was glad. He didn't need to be kept in the dark like this. "Will, do you think you could help..?"

"Yes!" Will practically shouted. He cleared his throat, watching Dipper watch him in equal parts of amusement and confusion. "Yeah, _yeaaah..._ whatever you need help with."

"Oh, thank you," Dipper sighed, shoulders slumping in relief. "I don't know how to tell him I love him."

Oh.

"You're on your own." At least, that's what he wanted to say. How about, "I can't help you, I'm sick"? Or, "You're literally asking the guy who openly has a crush on you, you jerk"? Or why not, "Don't tell him, you're not allowed to tell him"?

So why wasn't he saying anything?

"Will?" Dipper waved an arm in front of him, looking flustered. "Damn. I think I broke you or something." 

"No, no, no!" Will said quickly, snapping back into reality. Dipper stepped back in surprise. "No, it wasn't that, I was just deep in thought. To help you. Yeah. Because you need- that. And- he needs to hear you say- exactly that. Right? Right. So to do so, I think you can just- you- you know-" He was rambling like crazy now.

"Oh." Dipper looked like he got smacked between the eyes. "Oh. OH!" His face fell, and Will's rambling faded. The poor guy looked like he wanted to hide his face. "Oh my God..."

"What?" Will asked, panic closing off his throat. Did he say something? Shitshitshit- yeah, he sounded too panicky there, didn't he? Damn it, now Dipper is going to think he was obsessed with destroying their relationship, which is _exactly_ what he was doing, and Dipper-

"I was talking about Damon and- all that." Dipper waved his arms around for emphasis. His cheeks were flaming red by this point. "I forgot you had..."

Will felt like walking off the boat into the vast sea. "It's fine," he said, almost in defeat. He tried to crack a smile, but it just wouldn't show up on his own face. If it did, it would've came out bitter and small. "It's a lost cause with you. I don't really care."

That was enough for Dipper to calm down, his worried face softening up. "Good. The last thing I want is for you to walk away on me too."

Will licked his lips, watching the water down below hit the side of the boat. It was a hundred times better than watching Dipper look at him in pity. "You said you wanted my help. So why not practice with me?"

"What?"

"Practice with me." Will looked over at him, right from the corner of his eye. One side of his lips lifted upwards in a half smile. A mischievous half smile at that. "You know, what they do in movies when the protagonist is having trouble with a love interest. Their best friend-slash-sidekick suggests they practice with them."

Dipper looked a little lost for a moment, wondering what on earth Will was talking about, until it finally fit together in his head. A light bulb flashed over his head, and he laughed. "You mean I pretend you're Damon to get ready for real?" He shook his head, seeming a little disappointed. "You do know that the protagonist almost always falls for the best friend-slash-sidekick in a huge turn of character development that makes them realize that they were chasing after _them_ the whole time?"

"Are you hinting that this is foreshadowing?" Will teased.

Dipper stomped on his toes. 

"Okay, okay!" Will laughed, moving his foot just in case Dipper tried to hit him a second time. From Dipper's playful glance, Will could tell that it was going to happen sooner than later. "So no foreshadowing. Gotcha. But still. Practice with me!"

"How do I 'practice' with you?" Dipper asked him incredulously, putting air quotes around 'practice'. "Imagining you as Damon is enough to give me nightmares." He shivered for effect.

"Can it, Pines," Will groaned. He poked Dipper's cheek instead, almost playfully. "Flirt with me. Act like I'm Damon. If it helps, I could act like Damon to help you, ah...visualize more."

"How is that supposed to help?" Will could tell that Dipper was trying his best not to laugh out loud. 

Will cleared his throat, rubbing the base of his chest to soothe it. Then, raising a finger, he said grandly, "My name is Damon. I hate flowers because they're feminine and my favorite color is the darkness of my heart. Dun, dun, _dunnnnn_..."

Dipper laughed loudly, losing it at the serious face Will tried to pull off. He thumped Will on the back, like he wanted to push Will right over the edge to be shark bait and to never see him ever again. Will only grinned, waiting for Dipper to stop laughing so he could continue on with his plan. Which was simple. Make Dipper flirt with him- is that even too much to ask?

"No," Dipper said simply. He was trying his best not to burst out laughing again. "You acting like my boyfriend isn't going to help. In fact, it's just going to make me want to throw you out of this stupid boat. Just...I'll try, alright?"

"Well, that was easy," Will huffed. "I thought I had to flirt with you myself to make you play along."

Will moved his foot just in time so Dipper couldn't get to it. He chortled, laughing when Dipper pouted angrily. "You're so cute, you know that?" Will purred.

"I'm going to walk away now."

"Not until you say _one_ pickup line to me," Will lilted. Oh, he was having so much fun right now. "Just one. Then I'll stop bothering you for the next twenty-four hours."

"What is with you and pickup lines and puns, Will?!" Dipper threw his arms up. 

"It's in my nature," Will beamed. "It's reliable with the ladies, if I do say so myself. So. Spill, Pines. One line. Then I'll zip my mouth and throw away the key out into the ocean and come look for it in twenty-four hours."

"Will, you're extremely weird, you know that?" Dipper groaned. "But I guess...did...did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

Will grinned like a cat. There you go. "Are you calling me a demon?"

"K- kind of?"

"Gods above," Will called out, laughing to himself. "Give me strength. Dipper Pines is just too _adorable._ "

"Shut _up_ ," Dipper moaned. He didn't even have the strength to abuse Will in any way. That fact only made Will grin even wider (if that was even possible), knowing that he had the upper hand in this situation. "Flirting is just so- _useless,_ you know? Why joke around with someone's feelings when you can just- ya know?! Talk to...them?" he squeaked out, arms flailing everywhere during his mini-rant. His rant suddenly came to a halt, and he slowly turned his head to look at Will, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Like someone I know..." he continued, eyebrows raising up, up, up.

Will's grin dropped, but not enough for it to completely go away. The only thing left on his face was a soft smile. Wistful, if you looked hard enough. Because he knew who Dipper was accusing. Will loved to flirt with Dipper, did he not? Dipper probably thought he did it to get a reaction. Or for fun, or...

"Except the only difference with me is that I mean it with _you_ ," Will said softly.

Dipper's glare dropped, replaced by a dumbfounded look. Like he couldn't get a grasp of the situation and why Will didn't answer sarcastically, or with a pun, or to flirt with him even more.

Will, realizing his mistake from shifting the mood, cleared his throat loudly. The Stans downstairs had grown quiet, and were quiet for quite a while now. They were probably holding their breaths, not daring to look back to see what had happened with them but too curious enough to strain their old ears to hear them. To know what would happen. 

"Anyway, if-" he said hoarsely.

"Dipper, Stan can't figure out where you put his rope. We-" Ford stopped dead from where he was, a clipboard in his six-fingered hand. He looked up over his lashes, then lifted his head. He adjusted his glasses, squinting at them hard. Seeing their positions, how pressed their shoulders were together, and how close their faces were from each other, his bushy brows lifted up in complete surprise. 

"Oh boy. I'm interrupting something, aren't I?" he said kindly.

Dipper stepped away from Will like he was hot soup. "Grunkle Ford," he complained. He sounded like they weren't just having a conversation about flirting and Damon.

Ford laughed, completely amused by the situation. But Will didn't miss the glance Ford threw at him. Just a split second flicker of the eyes, so fast that it could've been what Will was imagining. A look of pity. People were giving him those looks more and more these days.

"Anyway," Ford drawled on, tapping a finger on his clipboard. "We're checking the supplies to let this boat swim out to the seven seas early in the morning. You were here the last time we went on our expedition. Maybe you know where the other things are...?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course," Dipper said casually. He straightened out his jacket with his palms, looking as relaxed as ever. Will looked like a still statue standing next to him. "I just need to finish cleaning up the-"

"No, leave it," Ford said, shaking his head. "The two of you have been here from morning to sunset, cleaning out everything like the greatest grandnephew and grandnephew in-" He coughed, "-greatest helpers in the world. The two of you need a break." As if to prove his point, he pointed up at the sky, which were turning beautiful colors of orange and pink and red, like a painting out of a museum. They were so vibrant that Will had to squint looking up, shocked by the fact that the horizon was already turning dark.

Ford beckoned for Dipper to come with him, in which Dipper responded to immediately. He walked over to his idol, back straight and seeming a little bored, but relieved to hear he no longer had to work on mopping every nook and cranny.

Dipper didn't leave Will in the dust, as much as Will's stomach began to drop thinking that he was. Dipper looked over his shoulder, brows pulled together in concern when he only saw Will, standing there, hands in his overcoat's pockets and shoulders hunched solemnly. "You can come with us if you want to, Will," Dipper called out to him. 

Will shrugged. "I don't know where anything is on here," he coaxed. That only caused Dipper's brows to pull together more. "I'll be fine," he added, "I'm just a little tired."

"If you're tired, you could come down to the cabins, Will," Ford told him. "There's a really small bed in the one Stan isn't angrily rummaging through right now, but I think you can sleep on it comfortably for tonight."

"Uh...thanks, then," Will said uncertainly. When he said 'tired', he meant in a mental way. Not to the point he felt like sleeping. But, he can take what he can get. So he waved at Ford and Dipper, watching them crouch down and walk to the stern to talk a bit more privately. Now that the twins had the boat for a couple years now, the whole thing was built much bigger than the first time they had it, but not big enough for Will to not see the two Pines discussing where everything would be out in the distance.

Deciding not to dwell on them too much, he made his way down to the cabins, where Ford directed him to. He could certainly hear Stanley swearing at everything and anything in his wake, like a true sailor at sea. As soon as he stepped into the cabin, on the other hand, Stanley's cussing and shouting were reduced to absolutely nothing. In fact, the tiny little cube of a cabin was completely silent, like the place knew what he needed, what he craved.

Will stripped himself of his sweaty shirt and overcoat, throwing himself onto the tiniest bed he'd ever seen in his entire life. But it was enough for him to writhe around and make himself comfortable, just as Ford had promised. He pulled the covers up to his chest, stacking the pillows over his head to rest his neck and back, his breathing evening out.

With everything so silent, his voices decided to fill that space.

They hadn't come to talk to him in a while, actually. Not since Dipper and he had that one-on-one bonding up in his room, where Will held him like a lifeline and Dipper promised to never leave. Since then, everything was tranquil and at peace, calmer than any part of his miserable life. But they were back, and they weren't whispering anymore.

Oh, no. They were _yelling._

They were screeching and screaming, loud and noisy until that was all Will heard anymore. They called him an idiot. Stupid, weak, unbelievably foolish. They told him that if he didn't do anything soon, he was going to stay in that horrible, horrible prison again. They told him he'll feel like he no longer had control of himself, of the world, of anything. He was losing, he was running out of time- things that Will already knew.

 _Kill the lover,_ one screamed at him. _Kill the lover and stage it, comfort the boy and have him to yourself!_

The back of his neck felt cold, while everything else felt like a hot furnace.

 _Don't,_ rasped another. _The boy will never forgive you, if he knew it was you or not. He will blame everything on you, you, you._

He couldn't feel his own body.

 _Then take the boy somewhere!_ screeched a frantic one. _Make him fall in love with you. Force him to love you again. Be charming, be sweet- he will take you back and he will leave his lover for you._

 _The Pines child is not stupid,_ another hissed. _You have to make him love you over the lover._

 _Make him love you over anything else,_ they chanted as one.

 _But he can't,_ Will's own, lone thought said solemnly. _He can't, he won't. He can't, he can't, he-_

The door to his cabin opened with a screeching creak, one that made him flinch. Will looked over sharply at his intruder, about to yell at them to get out, to leave him be with his own, frantic thoughts. But it was only Dipper, and try as he might, William can't ever yell at him.

"What are you doing here?" Will croaked, sitting up in his bed. His biceps strained from the sudden course of action. 

Dipper was carrying a small tray, which held an even smaller bowl that smelled strongly of various steamed vegetables. There were utensils by its side, and a glass of what seemed like orange juice. Dipper kicked the cabin door shut with his heel. "I...brought you ramen and juice," he said, just as hoarse as Will sounded. "You said you were tired so Ford felt bad for overworking you and said I should bring you some food."

"I'm not hungry," Will said gently. He held a hand up to stop Dipper from walking towards him. "You can bring it back to Ford and tell him that it wasn't his fault and I was just tired from...what?"

He didn't need Dipper from walking any closer to him. Dipper had stopped walking on his own, standing in front of Will with an unreadable look on his face. His jaw was tight, eyebrows raised high, and his eyes locked on Will himself. Not on his face, but...

Will's face scrunched together. He put a self-conscious hand over his chest, where his heart should be. Where _it_ should be. "It was a bad decision taking off my shirt from how hot it was, wasn't it?" He chuckled lightly.

" _You think_?" Will almost winced when Dipper snapped. Quickly, Dipper put the tray on the empty desk beside the door, striding over to Will angrily like he wanted to come over and punch him in the face. Since Will was already backed up to a corner and he had nowhere to go but right into Dipper's arms, Will stayed still, eyes wide and bracing himself for a full-on lecture.

"Is that why you didn't want to change in front of me?" Dipper demanded. "Is that why you and Wendy come back so late and refuse to tell me where you're going other than to the _forest,_ where every single man-eating predator fucking _lives_? You don't trust me, is that it?!" 

"Dipper-" Will said warily.

He wasn't haven't none of it with William. Dipper sat on the edge of the bed, eyes blown with anger. He swatted Will's arms away from his chest, taking a look at Will's shirtless form with knitted brows. Not to check him out in the way Will would've wanted in the past, but to check out his never-ending tattoos.

And scars. And bruises. And...tattoos.

Dipper didn't speak a single word. Not a comment under his breath, or a sharp inhale, or any irregular breathing. He just looked at Will the same way he looked at strange things he's never seen before, or something he was trying to figure out. In this case, as to way Will had so many strange tattoos and scars. 

There was a strange square bruise on Will's left shoulder, for example. Or '5/7/15' tattooed in dark letters on his collarbone. Or why there was a dark red triangle etched onto the left side of his lower abdomen- if it was inked there or if it was cut in. Or...why the key over his heart was left the brightest, the biggest. The most cherished.

"You have...a lot of tattoos, Will." He didn't mention the scars.

"Yeah?"

Dipper made a noise behind his throat. Hoarse and rough. "Which one's your favorite?" he said quietly. There was no anger behind his words anymore. Not even on his face. He was curious and somehow a little sad. But not angry.

"Nothing, really." Will licked his lips, trying his best not to meet Dipper's curious eyes. "But this one's my...I don't like it as much as the others. I was actually wondering if I should get it removed." He touched the one over his heart, gingerly. The first one he got. The one Dipper...

"Why?" Dipper looked almost surprised at his opinion. "It actually looks the most...detailed out of all of them. To me, at least. And if it's over your heart, it should be even a little bit-" He reached out for the tattoo.

"I don't like it," Will bit out. "Just because you know I like you, it doesn't mean you can tell me to do everything you want me to do."

His words felt like poison and bullets on his tongue, and he shot it right into Dipper without meaning to.

Dipper visibly swallowed. "Sorry." He retracted his hand from Will's chest. "I didn't mean-" His eyes were jumping around. "Will-"

"You weren't supposed to apologize," Will blurted out. "I'm sorry."

Dipper watched him warily. They both probably realized that they were saying sorry a lot lately. More than what they should, and what they had to pay credit for.

"Will?"

"Hmm?"

"You've killed people, haven't you?"

Will glanced up at him, alarmed. And there it was again. That stupid, stupid empty look.

He almost chomped down on his tongue. So that was why Dipper wasn't angry anymore. His scars and his tattoos weren't what he came here for. It was for that one sole reason, and that scared Will more than seeing Dipper so worked up over his own chest full of bruises.

And Dipper spoke. About how many times he's seen Will and Wendy come into the forest and never return into late into the morning. Or how Wendy avoided his eyes every time he asked of what they did, exactly, in those woods. Or how, when he comes to Will's room to chat, or to simply check, he would see blood. Blood and weapons and bleach to cover up to the smell and stains at a sooner date.

Will refused to meet his eyes the whole time.

When Dipper stopped talking, they were both reflections of each other. Quiet and having nothing to say. It was weird, how their day started out with playing a console together, then to irritating each other to no end, to sitting cross-legged on a small bed in a rocking boat. 

"So...you have. Haven't you?" It was hard to tell what Dipper was thinking, from how flat he sounded. And that just made it worst.

"Yes," Will admitted. "But...I don't like it."

Dipper looked up at him, curiously. "You don't like it?" He sounded confused.

Words were sputtering out of his mouth before he could stop them now. "I mean- I have the capacity to kill someone, duh, but- it- it doesn't mean I have to love the feeling of it, you know? I'd avoid killing a person if I could, but sometimes I just have to. I'd do anything to get what I want. Anything. Even killing a guy, but-"

"William," Dipper said flatly. "What exactly do you want?"

And there it was.

He couldn't breathe.

Something tightened around his neck. So hard and so sharply that his mind forced him to remember, that day a long time ago, when Dipper had tried to hang himself, to forget Bill Cipher and Mabel Pines completely and so that his pain would stop. The memories were what choked him further, like a snake detecting a weak, heavy pulse.

He can't. He can't. He can't- _I can't, I can't, I can't..._

"Will?" Dipper's hand gripped onto his wrist, and shook him. "Are you listening to me? Are you-?"

"I- I don't _know_!" he cried, the hands around his neck just getting tighter and tighter. "I don't know anymore! I used to want to be care-free, Dipper, I did, but- I- I can't- I...can't- I..." He sounded like he was going to start crying out of frustration. And maybe he would have. 

_I can't, I can't, I can't..._

"Will!" Dipper shook his arms, violently and almost desperately. Though William couldn't see straight and his vision was nothing but blurs and tilts, he could see Dipper's own panic. Scrunched up face, wild eyes- it was as if Dipper was having that panic attack and not him. " _William_! Breathe in, Will, I'm right here. Just- just keep taking deep breaths, you're right here, nothing is happening to you..."

Will couldn't hear the rest of his words.

And then Dipper pulls him close to his chest, rocking them like Will was a child that needed to be taken care of. 

Will clawed at the arms around him desperately. Not to force them away, but to keep holding him like this, for a little longer, for much longer, for forever if he could. He wasn't strong enough without them. And knowing that, knowing that he wasn't strong enough to take care of himself, might as well as a whole dimension and everything beyond that, he was starting to break, slowly, but certainly, and- and-

"Please stop crying." Dipper sounded like he was close to tears himself. His voice shook. "You know I don't like it when you cry."

He was crying?

Damn...goes to show how pathetic he could be, doesn't it?

And those words. Weren't they the words Will had heard before?

"I just want you," Will murmured into his chest. He gulped down air greedily into his system. "I just want to have the world all to myself."

"But you said you just wanted me," Dipper said in bemusement.

"I do. You are my world."

Dipper stroke his hair, absentmindedly. "I should've told you to stop flirting with me," he sighed. His voice was quiet, soothing and hushed. Like he was trying to put Will to sleep in his arms. It was working, unintentionally or not. "But since you said you meant them..."

Will felt tired. Truly, beyond tired.

"Stay with me?" he asked hopefully, sleepily. He was slurring, like a man on his last shot before he threw up and passed out. But there was no flirtation in his tone, no charisma of a drunkard. Just...pure exhaustion and hope. "I know you don't sleep until five in the morning, but I'm so tired."

"The bed's so small," Dipper said softly. Will felt his muscles relax. Dipper didn't blow him off. He was just concerned, by the fact that the bed was too small for even a close couple to fit in comfortably. "We won't fit here, Will. You know that, right?"

"I don't care," Will said simply. "I just...I just want to sleep beside you again."

Dipper kept stroking his hair, fingers combing through blond hair to the gentle lurching of the waves. Will kept his eyes closed, and imagined, for as long as he can, that Dipper and him were alone on a ship they rented together for their anniversary. That they were kissing and saying things to make the other smile, until they came to this position. One of them was tired, and the other was smiling down, at the lover they loved so dearly and wanted to never lose.

"I've never slept beside you in my entire life, William," Dipper laughed. Will felt a pair of lips come down, and press themselves on the top of his head. Warmth blossomed from his head to toe, and he swore to his own family that he felt himself smile. "But I'll stay here for tonight until you sleep. You think you'd be okay with that?"

"More than okay. Honestly, Dipper, you could strip in front of me and I would be more than okay," he mumbled. Dipper only laughed. Without him doing anything else than that, Will sat up, almost drunkenly, and laid himself to the farthest side as possible, just so Dipper could have space for himself. As much as he wanted to cuddle Dipper close, to hold him so he could never disappear, he wanted Dipper to feel comfortable even more. 

He remembered, when Dipper was still his and everything was still laid out for him to have, he had a nightmare. A nightmare that Dipper was literally slipping from his own fingertips and he couldn't do anything about it.

When he woke up, Dipper had forced him off the bed and they had laughed it off. They went on various dates that day, to the bucket list he made just for the one he loved.

Next time, he promised himself he would hold Dipper even closer. because in that dream, in that nightmare, Dipper begged for him to save him, but he slipped. Out in between Will's fingertips. Just like it was happening now, with the abyss being Damon and William being the broken safety net.

Dipper was the one who held him close that night.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Will felt his heart spike terribly.

Clenching, white-hot pain that spread throughout his body like wildfire.

Will sat up like a bolt, covered in his sweat. Was he having another panic attack? Was-?

No. It was Dipper.

Will looked over at his companion, suddenly overcame by the feeling of panic, but not as intense as it was before. Out the window, the quarter moon sat up in the sky like a twinkling beacon, providing enough light for Will to look at his brown-haired friend closely and carefully.

Dipper was whimpering. There was that shine of tears at the corner of his eyes, and without Will to hold onto in the middle of the night, he was starting to claw at the bed sheets, at the pillows. He looked so vulnerable, so helpless.

Nightmares.

Will, the instincts of his own experiences kicking in, crouched over Dipper and pressed his fingers to Dipper's forehead. With him feeling more and more human the more the days go on, his powers were rendered nearly useless. But still, he tried and tried, determined to take Dipper's nightmares away even if it's just for this one night. And from how hard it was to do this one repetitive task, he could tell the dream was intense, probably the worst Will would have ever think of giving a person.

It wore him out, more than any other magic could do to him, but he kept trying. 

And yet, Dipper slept like a rock, his twitching mouth the only indication of his discomfort now. Like he has been through the same dream over and over again, and was nearly used to it. But not quite, as nightmares, even trillions worth of them, could never be something to be used to.

And then those nightmares were transported to his own mind, and he saw what was bothering Dipper. Screaming, and name-calling, and blood, and the color red- this was a nightmare sent from hell, a nightmare Dipper had seen, over and over again, but never, ever wanted to see again.

It was over in a minute.

He felt a lump in his throat. He couldn't breathe, for reasons that were more related to belated happiness than panic. His heart pounded heavily and quickly in his own bare chest, the sweat turning cold on his back.

He knew what kind of dream that was.

It was a dream of a man's worst fear, to torture the poor target until they grew insane.

And if someone had told Will that Dipper would fall victim to a stupid, dark spell like this, it would've angered him, made him uninterested at most. Of course, he would've thought Dipper dreamt of losing his family, of Damon. He would've imagined Dipper's own realm of nightmares, where Damon was being beat up and tortured over and over again like a game of keep away.

But the warmth in his heart, the one that made his whole body buzz and made him lie back down to wrap his arms protectively for the first time in awfully long years around Dipper's shivering frame, to plant a kiss on Dipper's shoulder, and to whisper that he was still here, was not because of that, not because Dipper was scared of having Damon killed.

It was because Dipper has been having nightmares of losing _him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are 20 chapters in and only now do we finally have a fluff stage and?? Development??? What is??? Wrong with me??? And this fic??? Is like? So long??? And still has so much events to go through??? Like??? So much that most of you will probably abandon me halfway through the fic??? Thatmayormaynotmakeyouallkillmeatsomepointoranotherbut-
> 
> lol anyway, more development next chapter. I feel like all of you left because it was just because of angst but weLP, HERE I AM WITH A SILVER PLATTER OF FRESH AIR AKA FLUFF. Ya know, unless you like angst, which is 0.01% of you (Looking at you, Steve). I'll come back soon, if not later lololol (*｀･ω･)ゞ.
> 
> Also psst, hey- Happy Halloween! Sacrifice thy candy for thou panda. Be safe, you bunch of nerds.


	21. In Death, Love Survives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me, brethren. I hurt myself during volleyball and couldn't write for the life of me ;-;. But here I am!!! I tried making it shorter because hot diggity, these chapters are long and all of you are dying out here in the desert. T'is chapter will be a bridge of sorts to the next chapter, which is why this one is so choppy D:<
> 
> I have free reign this week, hopefully I can write some more. Plus, finally get to editing this piece of turd-of-a-fic so it isn't so confusing .-.

_"I know you're scared, I can feel it_  
_It's in the air, I know you feel that, too_  
_But take a chance on me, you won't regret it_  
_One more no and I'll believe you_  
_I'll walk away and I will leave you be_  
_And that's the last time you'll say 'No', say 'No' to me_  
_It won't take me long to find another lover but I want you_  
_I can't spend another minute getting over loving you."_

**[My Heart Is Open | Maroon 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_kvy7s4-ng) **

* * *

Will slammed his hands on the table angrily, chair screeching behind him noisily when he stood up. Eyes wide and finger pointing accusingly at his partner, he screamed, "YOU CHEATED!"  

Dipper only laughed, knocking down his king with his finger. There was a slight cocky smirk on his face, one that Will promised he would've worn two and a half hours ago when they started the match. "Either you resign or you witness the slaughter of your king, Will."

"Oh, well." Will shrugged, sitting back down casually, much to Dipper's slight confusion. "Witnessing you being murdered is not my cup of tea, obviously, but whatever makes you happy."

Dipper made a face, throwing a bishop piece at Will's face, in which Will gladly dodged with a laugh. "Even in cold-blooded defeat, you still have the morality to flirt with me," Dipper groaned. With the chess pieces now scattered all over the table, Dipper swooped them all up in his hands, piling them up in the middle of the board.

"Well, at least you recognize me actually _flirting_  with you for once," Will mused.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but being told about that for the past week on a stupid boat _certainly_ wouldn't make me recognize my own best friend's flirting skills," Dipper said sarcastically. Grumbling under his breath, he added, "Not to mention how wrong he plays chess."

"Hey, we had our bonding week!" Will argued, ignoring Dipper's last comment. "Six days of pure fun on a boat and now we're closer than ever!" he said with a grin.

"Six days of sea sickness and being forced to chug down month old eggnog, you mean," Dipper scoffed. He gathered the pieces and dumped them in the packaging of the chess set. Will folded up the chess board for him. "I can't believe they made me call in the school to say I would be missing a whole _week._ I'm lucky they didn't fire me," he groaned, shaking his head.

"You're lucky you didn't rip your Grunkle's head off, you mean. Man oh man, I was about to videotape the whole thing when Stan told you that the boat took off in the middle of the night," Will guffawed. Dipper glowered. And well- it was true. After sleeping in the first night on the supposedly tied up boat, they woke up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Apparently, Stan had forgotten to tie the stern tight enough for it to not break while they slept in to rest. But it did, and it took them six days to find their way back to land.

In the meantime, Dipper had to call in both his work and Damon to tell them the bad news. His work took it well enough- he was just a substitute, and he was easily replaceable (Will remembered purring, "But you're not replaceable in my heart" when Dipper told him, followed by a dead fish being smacked across his eyes). And Damon?

Damon did not.

He shouted through the phone, he screamed and kicked (probably) from where he was, saying that Dipper was lying and he can certainly find his way here in less than an hour and Dipper was just being selfish. The dysfunctional couple shouted at each other for what seemed like centuries, forcing the old twins and Will to shake their heads at each other and intimidate the argument coming from the cabin while they worked on getting themselves back home.

Thankfully, they were now back in the Shack, safe and sound. Dipper and Damon hadn't said a word to each other since then.

"Well, that's enough of chess for today," Dipper grunted, snapping the cardboard lid on as soon as Will had handed him the board. "Since this is my last day of being free of screaming children and them asking me why I slacked off the last few days, where d'you wanna go?"

"What class are you teaching next?"

"Arts Education," Dipper responded automatically. "But that's not really important. I was thinking we could go get some ice c-"

"Ice cream, mice scream!" Will scoffed. "Let's do something that would help your class then!"

Dipper's lips tugged down in a slight frown of confusion. "And what exactly do you...?"

Will only shrugged. He laid back against the wall, fiddling with an old coin he found on the floor. Dipper only watched him, unamused and a little bored. It was late morning on a hot day in the middle of the supposed late 'autumn'- no one in their right mind would be thinking about work right now. Especially with someone like Will, in which even the word 'learning' was taboo for him. 

"I don't know," Will finally said. "You've lived in Gravity Falls longer than I have. Where can we go, you and I, to learn more about the history of this fucked up dimension?"

"The museum would be a safe choice," Dipper sighed. "But you're not gonna like it there. It's-"

"-but you do, I'm assuming?"

Dipper looked a little annoyed. Will would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't doing this just to make Dipper irritated with him. In fact, that's all he's been doing since they came onto that boat. "Will, the museum is full of things I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be even mildly interested in," Dipper said slowly.

"Oh, like what?" Will retorted.

"Artworks. Masterpieces. Van Gogh?" Dipper sighed irritably. 

Will forced himself not to blurt out, _Oh, Van Gogh? He's a cool guy. He never took a shower though._ But instead, he hummed, "Hmm. Very true. Why would I look like at a 9 out of ten masterpiece when you're the ten out of ten artwork I could look at everyday?"

"I'm walking out of this room."

To prove his point, Dipper got up stood up from his spot on the floor and walked off. Will laughed wholeheartedly, watching his friend stalk away like a four year old being told all his Halloween candy was eaten. He watched for a while, watching to hear the footsteps coming back right to him. But they never came.

His smile dropped ever so slightly. "Pines!" he called out. "Where are you going?"

"The museum for our date," Dipper said sarcastically. "Are you coming or not?" He already sounded far away.

Will bolted up from his seat on the floor faster than Scooby Doo getting his scooby snacks. Then he ran for the closing door, and followed Dipper to his old car. Dipper was already in the driver's seat, fingers drumming on the steering wheel while he waited for Will to get in.

"Eight point fifty seconds," Dipper mused. "Faster than Damon when I tell him we're getting fried chicken from the convenience store."

"What can I say?" Will chuckled. He put on his seat belt, Dipper already pulling out of sight from the Mystery Shack. "A date with you is certainly something I can't miss," he purred, pulling the lever by his seat to let it down at a slight angle.

Dipper grumbled, stopping at an instant red light. The poor guy looked a little bit more than disgruntled today than ever. Will had to glance over at him to make sure it just wasn't morning fatigue, and frowned to himself. "Did you talk to Damon?" he asked kindly.

"If you mean yell at each other like there was a bomb in the house, yeah," Dipper said sarcastically. When Dipper got overly sarcastic, he meant business. "Damn, sometimes he just..."

"Then why don't you break up with him?" Will blurted out. Dipper glanced at him for a millisecond. "I mean, if the both of you fight a lot, then obviously it isn't a good relationship. It would just end in tears and bruises, so might as well end it now, right?" Will blabbered on.

"Will, it's not that easy," Dipper said, almost irritably. He stepped on the gas, causing Will to slam the back of his head against his seat. Dipper was driving a hundred miles per hour and weirdly enough, Will didn't feel like dying today. "You can't just walk out of a two year relationship, Will! It would be like peeling skin off your own body!"

Will rubbed the back of his head, slightly disgruntled. He had to blink back the stars out of his vision before he responded. "Sheesh. Yeah, okay- whatever. I was just suggesting-" Will huffed.

"Then maybe you should stop talking to me and chase after a guy who actually even _mildly likes you instead of forcing every single drama trope down my throat_!" Dipper shouted angrily. He swerved to miss a motorcycle by half an inch.

Will dropped his hand away from his throbbing head. Oh. Well...

The car grew quiet. No one bothered to turn on the radio. Dipper had slowed down his speed, to a rate more like himself. Will had crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head away from the driver to his left to watch everything else pass by his eyes. It got harder not to look at Dipper the more trees passed by his field of vision. 

A street. Then two. A couple trees. A convenience store. An animal shelter. Ring road. Traffic. A few more streets. Some more-

"I didn't mean it," Dipper blurted out.

Will turned his head to look at him. This day alone was already beginning to give him a headache worst than the throbbing behind his eyes. They haven't even gotten there yet. "You didn't mean to yell at me or you didn't mean telling me to chase after a guy who 'even mildly likes me'?" he asked curiously.

That made Dipper wince. Will didn't mean to sound cold like that, but well- it just came out that way. "You know what I mean," Dipper said quietly. Even with Will finally looking at him after gruesome hours during traffic, Dipper refused to look at him, or glance at him. He only spoke to the road in front of him, his words level and professional, like he practiced saying them.

"When I woke up this morning, Damon and I got into one more nasty fight. You were still asleep but- my Grunkles had to yell at him to get out of the house until he gets his head straight," Dipper pushed on. He licked his lips subconsciously. "I blamed everything on you, so I'm sorry if I wasn't acting like myself today."

Will didn't speak. How could he? Another fight between those two. He almost shook his head in disappointment, but chose to stay still instead. Even hearing their fights over the phone with each other would set him on edge. The way Damon spoke to him...it was like Damon would snap any moment. And when he finally did, there was a chance Will wouldn't be there to protect Dipper. 

Just like every other time when he wasn't there for someone he kept telling people he would always protect and cherish.

"The two of you fought over having me constantly with you," Will finally settled on, words like bile resting on his tongue, "right?" He never got to hear everything of their fights, but the words 'Will' and 'You're my boyfriend, not his' would always, always pop up. 

"Yeah," Dipper answered. There was no point in lying. "Will-"

"If he doesn't want me with you, then it's fine," Will said quickly. "He's your boyfriend. You shouldn't be obliged to hang out with me just because I'm lonely."

"Well, that's just _it_!" Dipper said sharply. Will was almost certain he was going to press on the gas again and braced himself. But it never came, thankfully enough. "Will, I don't hang out with you because _you_ want me to, I do it because _I_ want to. What's it going to take for him to realize that I can't spend every second with him and I just want to be with _you_?!"

"Dipper," Will said slowly, "you know this is exactly why the two of you are fighting, right?"

"Well, no duh, Will. He-!"

"-no. Dipper," Will sighed. He laid his head behind the seat's headrest, looking up at the open sunroof Dipper had forgotten to close the last time he was in this car. "As much as I hate Damon and hate how much he dictates your life, you gotta give the man some props. He's your _boyfriend._ Do you honestly think you'd be okay with him constantly going out with his 'best friend' to places like bars, museums, coffee shops- places where _we_ always plan to go to?"

When Dipper didn't speak up, Will continued on. "Because I certainly wouldn't! Heck, I'd already be suspicious my boyfriend tells me he suddenly has a new 'best friend' that he hangs out with more than he hangs out with me. Dipper, he's just worried about you catching feelings for me-"

"But it's never going to happen!" Dipper butted in. Will locked his jaw closed. "Will, you know that! I don't have feelings for you, I _can't_ have feelings for you. Damon's being-"

"You say you don't have feelings for me and I know that!" Will said in irritation. He dug his nails into his own palms, his own flesh. The headache felt like it was coming back. "But do you think _he_ does?!" he hissed. 

Dipper glanced at him. Eyes cold, empty, lifeless. And angry.

"Why are you suddenly take his side?!" Dipper snapped, eyes coming back on the road. "Will, you said so yourself that you hate him. So why the hell-?"

"Because if I were him," Will breathed, his words shaking harder than his body, "I would've thought I was losing you."

Dipper didn't speak. He didn't even open his mouth, or clamp it shut like a bear trap. He just averted his gaze, back to the road and away from Will's expectant stare of disbelief.  But even though he wasn't objecting to anything Will was saying, it was clear that gears were turning in his head, assessing every little thing in his ginormous situation.

And Will only frowned.

He studied Dipper's expression for a moment or two. A scrunched up face of slight disgust and humility, nose flared and a barely noticeable pout on his lips. His shoulders were hunched in front of the steering wheel while he drove. Grumbling could be heard if a person were to be quiet enough.

Will's mouth twitched. A battle was fought in his head, the disagreeing side losing by a landslide.

So he leaned in, just slightly because the space between them was thin as it is, and kissed Dipper on the cheek teasingly.

"Stop scowling," he said seriously, glaring into Dipper's soul, "you already look adorable as you are."

Instead of arguing and bickering more with Will as he usually would've, Dipper looked down like a scolded toddler, cheeks turning a slight shade of pink.

* * *

It took them exactly one hour, thirty-two minutes, and fifty seconds to arrive at the Gravity Falls museum.

The moment the place began looming over the other buildings in his view, William refused to stop bouncing in his seat like an overly excited puppy at a park (Will should know, he always takes his dog to the same park). Dipper looked about ready to throw him out of the window. 

"Oh! Look!" Will gasped, pointing at the beige building. "The thing looks ugly with that color but it's looking good!"

"What, the museum?" Dipper snorted. "Excuse me, but beige is a pretty color."

"Sure, _Emperor in New Clothes_."

Dipper groaned, barely making it in between two trucks, the only parking spot within a mile radius. "Don't make jokes like that. You're shrinking my brain faster than watching people set themselves on fire outside of the Shack," he scolded.

"I am offended." Will gasped dramatically. 

Dipper only rolled his eyes, half amused and half annoyed with Will's annoying behavior. The tension in the car, after an hour and a half of them shouting over the radio at slow drivers, had vanished almost completely. While yes, they argued sometimes, those arguments would almost always end with Dipper being exasperated with Will's attempts to lighten the mood. Which, in Will's opinion, was a hundred times better than them at each other's throats like animals.

He had to do that often over that week with Dipper on the boat.

"So..." Dipper said, rubbing his hands together like a super villain. By this point, they had already gotten out of the car and were making their way to the empty looking museum. No one was going to a place like this on a weekday. Or any day, really. What kind of nerd do you have to be to _want_ to be here?

"I've been here more times than I can count before. There's a whole section dedicated to William Shakespeare to the west- but we're not going there in case you make any more shitty puns while we're here. But...then again, if we cross _that,_ we'll find ourselves among the paintings and sculptors of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni with Leonardo da Vinci's-" Apparently Dipper.

"Ugh," Will groaned, draping his arm around Dipper's shoulders, "Michelangelo and Leonardo are a bunch of twats, take it from me. His painting in the Louvre was stolen _yeeeeears_ ago. Let's go somewhere where you would actually learn something, hmm?" He steered them to the left.

Dipper glared hard at him, steering them back to the right, aligning themselves with the entrance a couple yards away from them. "Oh?" he said indignantly. The automatic doors opened up for them, blasting them with air like a welcoming committee. 

"Yeah!" Will grinned, steering them straight ahead. No one at the main floor bothered to give them a second look. "Come on, you're smarter than that, Pine Tree. What's something you _haven't_ learned yet? Probably nothing in here, I bet."

"Will, you just told me that we should go to the museum. Now you're telling me we came here for noth-?"

"Oh, no," Will said, his voice echoing through the stretched out hallway. "We came here for something. And that was for fun and for creativity."

"Obviously," Dipper muttered under his breath.

"Oh, don't be a buzzkill. What's the topic you have to teach that class of yours anyway?"

Dipper shrugged, eyes watching the walls of art like a hawk. Despite the fact that there was a complete and plausible chance that Dipper had seen these artworks before like it was burned at the back of his eyes, the kid kept looking at them in innocent awe. Eyes wide and sparkling, even though his back was hunched over like an exhausted grandmother. He may seem nonchalant, but Will knew him better than that.

"Dipper?" Will squeezed his friend's bicep. "You listening to me or what, kid?"

"Uh...c- charcoal self portraits. They have to choose a famous charcoal artist to study and base their portraits on. For instance, one of them was doing one on Kate Sammons. But, most just want to do Van Gogh, even though he only used charcoal to-" Dipper babbled on.

"Charcoal, huh?" Will pondered over that for a moment. "Well, since we can't study charcoal in itself- I mean you could but that would be boring, wouldn't it? Anyway, I guess the only thing you could do to help with that handy topic is do the art itself."

Dipper glanced over at him. "You...want me to draw?" he said uncertainly.

"Why not?" Will guffawed. "You're related to Stanford Pines, aren't cha? He's a great drawer, if I do say so myself. So you will be too," he said proudly. They kept walking through the seemingly never-ending hallway of doom.

"Artist," Dipper corrected, sighing like an exasperated teacher (which he kinda already was), "Will, that's not how anything works. He's my great uncle, genetics don't just-"

"But maybe they can," Will cut off. He pointed at a painting to their right, one that pictured pine trees and mountains in watercolor. "Like, for example...what do you see in that painting right there, Picasso?"

"It was Bob Ross who did landscapes like this, not Picasso," Dipper corrected once again. He was beginning to sound more and more irritated. Or that could just be Will, he wasn't a judge. "Will, all I see is a watercolor based landscape-"

They had missed the beware the slippery floor sign a couple steps ago, and now they were on thin ice. A couple seconds after realizing this horrible fate of events, Will slipped on the floor and nearly took Dipper down with him.

He landed right on his butt, back pressed against the damp pavement in a way of surrender. Nothing came out of his mouth, not even a groan or a swear. Life wants to take him down? Be his fucking guest, he had no problems but to sleep on this stupid floor now. 

"And the Great William falls as mighty as the Berlin Wall," Dipper said sarcastically, looking down at him. There was a teasing smirk playing on the corner of his lips.

"This is not a time to be laughing at me and my mother land, Pines." Will made a face, folding his hands over his stomach like he was going to be lowered into his own grave.

"Oh wait, there's a time? I thought it was twenty-four-seven."

Will pouted, fighting the urge to raise up the one finger salute right to his comrade. "You're not going to help me up, are you? Because I really, really wanna sleep here," he said innocently.

Dipper only quirked an eyebrow, unamused by his confession. He reached out a hand for Will, daring him to not take that hand with a glower that could make babies cry and flowers shrivel up. Nonetheless, Will stood (laid?) tall, a simper smirk on his lips. Was he going to get murdered in the middle of a museum? Probably, most likely. 

"William, _get up,_ " Dipper groaned.

" _Etiam in morte, superest amor,_ my friend," Will sang.

"'In death, love survives'?" Dipper mused.

Will screwed up his face. 

"I studied Latin in high school."

"Ah. 'Splains it." Will made a show of wiggling on the floor to a more comfortable position. "Still not getting up though."

Dipper took a deep breath, looking like he was counting to ten in his head before he spoke again. "Will," he said slowly, his hand reaching farther down, "if you get up, I'll get you some ice cream later. Promise."

Will reeled it over in his head, tapping his chin in thought. "Huh. Ice cream sounds good," he drawled, turning his playful gaze to Dipper's exasperated one, "as long as it's lobster with a side of plastic dinosaurs."

"I...didn't even know that existed...?"

"'Course you didn't! You're a small-minded human who has no idea what this world can be capable of!" Will exclaimed, grasping Dipper's hand.

He pulled himself up, standing tall in front of Dipper with a smile that reeked of mischief and trouble. Dipper, on the other hand, only wrinkled his nose, wiping his sweaty hand on his jacket in slight disgust. 

"Why are you so hot?!" he demanded.

"Gee, I'm glad you finally noticed," Will said sarcastically. "But it's genetics, kiddo."

Dipper narrowed his eyes, looking like he wanted to take the axes on display in the other room to chop Will right in half. "Will, I meant your hand," he said distastefully. There was a twinge of pink on his nose, the only indication of his buried embarrassment. "You're not sick, are you?"

"Me? Sick? Psssh." Will waved a hand in dismissal. He wiped his hands on his pants just in case. "I'm as strong as an ox, Pine Tree. I was just probably under pressure from how hot _you_ are."

"But I'm not sick," Dipper said in confusion.

Will pursed his lips. " _Anyway,_ " he said dismissively, taking Dipper's wrist, "since Professor Pines needs to have a wonderful comeback after going on a boat honeymoon with me, maybe it's time we give them an example of a good charcoal portrait with your own, hmm?"

Against his will ( _eheh_ ), Dipper was viciously pulled away, being dragged by the arm like a stray cat to a direction Will randomly chose. "Will," Dipper whined.

"Dipper," Will whined right back.

"Will, I'm serious! You can't just drag me around without my consent, I-!"

"Sue me." Will shrugged. He tugged on Dipper's arm when he was beginning to fight back. If it was a fight Dipper wanted, it was a fight Dipper was going to get. "Listen, we're not leaving this museum until you do what I say. Or...ya know, when this place closes at midnight. Heh. But still- you gotta do _something,_ Dip."

"Do _not_ call me Dip," Dipper groaned. Without turning around, Will could tell that Dipper was already thrashing and writhing around like a tantruming child, considering how much he was wailing under his breath. "Where are we even supposed to go?!"

"Simple," Will chirped, looking over his shoulder. He thanked the heavens for letting the museum be half empty on this star-aligned date and time. "You know this place better than I do. Where can we find an empty art classroom to use the canvases and supplies?"

"You mean to _steal_?" Dipper said incredulously.

"Wow. If you put it that way, it's not as fun."

"Because it's not!" Dipper argued. He tried to put Will off guard by tugging back his arm forcefully. Will refused to let go. "Will, there's only three classrooms in here. Two are being used right now, and the other-" He clamped his mouth shut when he realized his mistake.

"Oho, _now_ we're talkin'." Will stopped in his tracks, almost forcing Dipper to crash right into his side. Will looked at him with gleams in his eyes, his fingers still closed around Dipper's small wrist. "Where's the third one?" he practically demanded.

"Third one? What third one? There's no such thing as a third o-" Dipper's eyes widened.

Will rolled his eyes, holding up a hand to stop Dipper from babbling even more. "I've bullshitted my way through lifetimes of other nonsense. Would you rather have this be done with or I make you go streaking with me down the streets until we arrive at the Shack, where your disappointed Grunkles will be at?"

Dipper knew better than to ask Will how he would make them do such a thing. So he just shakily lifted a finger, pointing to the hall to their immediate left and squeaked out, "Down the hall, three doors to the right. It's the only red door with a golden plate."

Will bobbed his head in satisfaction, loosening his death grip on Dipper's wrist now that Dipper was beginning to cooperate. While Will drove them to where Dipper's instructions laid, he asked over his shoulder, in pure curiosity, "What the heck does the golden plate even say?"

Now that Dipper was right beside him to match his own pace, Will could clearly see the sheepishness in his smile and face. "Pines...?" Dipper said tentatively. Will threw Dipper a look. 

"Pacifica?" he guessed.

"Uh...y- yeah."

Will stifled a laugh at the face Dipper pulled, stopping right at the only maroon red door Dipper specifically told him to look for. Without knocking or seeing if it was locked, Will pushed right through the door, dragging them inside.

A shrill alarm went off in the middle of the room, like the ones during a store burglary. Without wasting a moment, Dipper darted away from Will and practically jumped on the security keypad. He punched in a few numbers and pressed his thumb against the fingerprint scanner, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth in concentration. Will only watched in slight boredom, crossing his arms over his chest while he watched.

The alarm stopped abruptly a couple moments later, followed by a series of beeps that seemed to make Dipper slump in relief.

Then Dipper whirled around to face him, a twitch in his eye and an accusing finger pointing right at Will's face. "Dude!" he screamed, throwing an arm up. "Do you know how much trouble we could've gotten in if I wasn't _here_?!"

"Well, duh. You're the owner of this room." Will rolled his eyes. "Did you think I would burst in here if you weren't?"

Dipper raised an eyebrow.

"Nevermind," Will said quickly, turning his head around to avoid Dipper's scowl, "so, when was the last time you were here? Your canvas must be running dry. But hey, you win some, you lose some- we'll clean it up in a jiffy!" 

Not letting him have the time to respond, Will walked over to the purple beanbag in the corner, plopping cozily on it like he's done it a dozen times. He rested his hands over his stomach, fiddling with his thumbs while he grinned up at an awkward standing Dipper.

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, looking out of place. Behind him were parchments of papers, looking more like anatomy studies than art. Maybe because they were, considering all the red yarn and old notes scattered on the walls and on the floor. Tubes of paint and all kinds of art supplies were dusting up in boxes marked 'ART' under tables. Empty canvases were left there on easel stands. And beyond even that were covered up shapes that looked like canvases- finished artworks, perhaps.

"This isn't the best place to work, I know," Dipper said apologetically. "The last time I came here was...probably more than a year ago. I can't remember much but I threw a bunch of stuff."

"Angry?" Will guessed. "That's alright, people use art to let stuff go. I know I do. My guardians always go crazy when I stain the living room with my reeking teenaged rebellion," he said half-sarcastically.

Dipper laughed, trekking right over to the nearest easel. He ran his fingers through the dusty canvas, coming back with -no surprise- dust. He smothered the dust between his fingertips, looking up from the white empty painting. 

"You can draw too," Dipper said. "If you want, of course," he added quickly.

"Weren't you the one who pointed out I drew like a chicken on drugs?" Will asked him innocently.

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't draw."

"True," Will hummed. He brought his feet up to his chest, turning his body upside down so that his feet were up over the edge of the beanbag and the top of his head was touching the floor. He looked up at Dipper. "I'll draw after you do. In the meantime, I can sit here and talk to you to keep your lonely heart company."

"I'm not lonely. If anything, you are," Dipper snorted. Regardless, he took a rotting stool from underneath a table and pulled it right beside an easel. He sat on it, turning the canvas to face him. He didn't make a move to grab actual supplies, only tapping his chin in thought. A brow was hooked upwards in natural Pines style.

Will only watched him, drumming and tapping his fingers on his stomach. Well, that was easy. Now he could watch Dipper all day long if he wanted to. 

"Will, please stop staring at me while I'm thinking." Or not.

"Why?" Will whined, stretching his arms over his head, "I'm bored."

"Then draw. I told you, it wouldn't hurt if you do it too," Dipper said simply.

"What, stare at an empty canvas for hours? No, thank you."

"For your information, I'm staring at it because I need to plan," Dipper snapped, looking over at Will. "If you really want to help me right now, get me some charcoal, will you?"

Will snickered. "Nice pun."

"Will."

"Okay, _okay_. Sheesh." He turned himself around, heaving as he got up from his way-too-comfortable spot on the floor. He scratched the itchy spot on his lower back, stomping lazily over to where a box marked 'charcoal' laid. He took a knee, popping open the box with his fingernails and fanning out the dust it blew up.

He chose a charcoal pencil, a round compressed stick, and a vine. They looked sad on his palm, but they would do. It was Dipper, after all. That guy could make a masterpiece with his eyes closed and with the bluntest of pencils. 

"There's a kit in there, Will," Dipper called. "It has all the stuff I need. Pencils, brushes, erasers, knives."

"Knives? Are you planning to kill someone?" Will frowned. He went scavenging for that kit either way.

Dipper only chuckled. "You'll see."

He found a dusty black-stained container at the very bottom of the box, buried underneath tons and tons of broken charcoal pieces. He scratched it out, dusting it off with his breath and his hands. He wiped the top with the bottom of his shirt as well, just to make it look somehow presentable. Then he stood up, a proud smile on his face as if he was about to present a red cushion with a sparkly crown on top.

Will dropped the kit on another stool, dragging it to be placed right beside Dipper for his comfort. "There," he said proudly. "Now if you need me, I'm going to rethink my life over on that beanbag while you do your thing."

"No. Nada." Dipper gave him a dirty look, reaching over to pop open the container. "You're taking that easel across from me and draw something, at least. You never know, you might be good with charcoal."

"It gets all over my hands though," Will complained.

"So? You have literal blood on your hands sometimes and you don't give a damn."

"You know I hate it when you're right," Will scolded. He snatched a stick from the kit before Dipper could say something, turning on his heel and sticking his nose in the air like a queen. Then he marched himself to the easel Dipper was talking about, the one with its back to Dipper's own painting so they have their own privacy, and sat himself on a stool he dragged noisily to this very spot.

Dipper laughed a little when he did. Will stuck out his tongue at his friend before disappearing behind the giant white canvas. At least, he hoped so. He didn't want Dipper see him look so concentrated on one sketch.

The next few minutes were left in silence.

Or, hours, therefore.

Nothing was in there for him to really know the time but the ticking of the clock itself. It ticked with each thought that passed through his head or each way too pressed stroke on the empty white. Will didn't know how Dipper was doing right now, but he could safely say they were both doing fine.

After finishing up the final touches on his self portrait, which was outlining his eyes very, very darkly, he bolted right up and took a closer look at his masterpiece.

His weak hands were sore and dangerously red from having to grip the stick so hard (he was only thankful it didn't break in half- now wouldn't _that_ be a fiasco to witness?) and even his face felt tired to the bone. But one thing was true and he knew he had every right to be egotistical about it.

He did a very good job on this self portrait and JJ should be very jealous.

"Psst. Pine Tree!" he hissed, popping his head over to the side.

He nearly scared poor Dipper half to death. Dipper yelped when he caught sight of Will's creepy ear-to-ear grin, almost dropping his eraser with it. Weirdly enough, he didn't scold Will right away, but chose to move closer to his canvas, arms flailing and eyes wide with panic, like a protective father.

"What do you want?!" Dipper hissed.

"Come admire my portrait with me," Will pretty much beamed. "I think you're gonna like it."

Dipper seemed to have calmed down by this point, but that didn't stop him from scrunching up his face like Will told him to smell cow dung. He had to take a couple deep breaths before he could glower at Will and respond. "Will, I'm working on mine," he sighed irritably.

"On your self portrait?"

Instead of getting a direct answer like Will had guessed, Dipper grew quiet, brows pulling together in slight uncertainty. "You could say that," was Dipper's dubious answer.

Not pondering on it too much, Will beckoned him over with his finger. "Come on," he pleaded, opening his eyes wide like a puppy, "please, Dipper?"

Dipper didn't seem pleased to be pulled out of his work, but he got up nonetheless. He grumbled salty things here and there while he put away his stuff to his kit, but he did it. He stomped over there, turning around to face Will's portrait in annoyance.

"Okay, I looked at it. Now-?" Dipper stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing straight at Will's drawing in pure charcoal.

"It's nice, isn't it!?" Will exclaimed. He was bouncing in his stool. "I put all my blood, sweat, and all other bodily fluids in this five hour- minute- whatever time it is! Do you like it?" He didn't care if he sounded worst than any of the daycare kids. Or even a puppy.

"It's uh..." Dipper said slowly, his expression unreadable, "...nice?"

"Really? What do you like most about it?" Will grinned. Not his mischievous ones. Definitely not those. "The nose almost made me want to rip out my eyeballs!" he said with a happy tone.

"Well, I'm glad you had...fun...?"

"I only had fun because it looks good, doesn't it?"

Dipper opened his mouth to say something. Then his eyes betrayed him and flickered down to look at Will, and everything that seemed to want to come out of his mouth just stopped right there. It was like Dipper.exe had finally stopped working.

Will's smile faded away slowly. "You don't...you don't like it?" he asked hesitantly.

"I- I mean I..." Dipper stammered. "I _guess_ I've seen better but...yours looks g..." He looked like he was going to puke every time the first syllable of 'good' tried to escape his mouth.

Will looked at his drawing again. He stared at it, trying to see what Dipper thought was wrong. Well, okay- _maaaybe_ it looked wonky. And the grin was too big. And he had no idea what that lump on his neck was whatsoever. He looked like Mr. Peanut but with stringy hair.

"Okay," Will said in defeat. "It doesn't look good. I admitted it. You are superior. JJ is superior."

"You'relikeapuppy," Dipper said quickly, his voice squeaky and weak.

Will glanced at him. "Say that again?" he said in confusion.

"Youlooklikeapuppyandit'sadorable," Dipper said yet again. He seemed clammy and sweaty.

"Dipper, you need to speak up. My ears are older than you think."

"YoulooklikeacuteadorablepuppyandIcouldn'tsaynookay?!" Dipper said louder, but way too fast for Will to even comprehend the first word.

"Louder and slower, please!" Will said in exasperation. He dropped his stick on the ledge of the easel, looking over at Dipper to make eye contact and force the sweaty, panicked-stricken brunet to look at him straight in the eyes.

"I said you looked like a puppy so I couldn't crush a puppy's feelings, OKAY?!" Dipper shouted.

"Oh." Will blinked, tilting his head slightly to the side. He broke their eye contact. "Huh."

"What, that's it?!" Dipper said incredulously. "I just called you a puppy and all you say is 'huh'?"

"Sure, why not?" Will said dismissively. "We all know I'm cute."

Dipper groaned, now more annoyed with Will than panicked. "Listen, I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened and walk right back to my work."

"Oh, can I see?!" Without waiting for an answer, Will stood up.

"No, _William_ -!" Dipper screeched.

Will nearly elbowed Dipper in his attempt to see Dipper's obviously-not-so-superior drawing of himself. Dipper wrestled him in the meantime, fighting to either keep Will planted to the seat of the stool or to look over at the canvas across from him. They were like a duo of rabid dogs, pretty much clawing out each others' faces to get what they want. Which, Will thought was stupid, since all Dipper wanted was for him not to look at another piece. He was just curious, damn it.

Finally, after reaching down and squeezing Dipper's side, initiating Dipper to laugh and spasm, Will launched himself out of his stool, running for Dipper's self portrait. Dipper couldn't stop him this time.

Con: It was not a self portrait of Dipper Pines. No, it definitely was not.

Pro: It was a portrait of Will.

From his hair to his chest, Dipper had drawn William in perfect, detailed charcoal. The darker part of his hair was shaded, versus the softly erased parts of the lightest in it. Some lines were thin, some were heavier, depending on the lighting it came with Will's face. And by gods- the face itself looked like a snapped photo caught in a time where Will was eternally smiling. Raised soft lips, shaded nose, bright eyes, dark shadows. This was not a face a stranger would draw.

It was a face someone had taken their sweet time on, remembering every detail and emotion and feeling. Dipper did not draw Will- he drew someone who he thought was Will. A genuine smiling, kind young man. A person who was in love with him and Dipper...Dipper wasn't.

So what the hell was Dipper feeling, if his depiction of Will was someone who smiled brighter than the sun? Someone who clearly, _clearly_ did not smile so sincerely like that?

Will didn't realize he had sat himself on Dipper's stool until he was already reaching out for his own flesh and blood from a canvas. 

"Well..." He cleared his throat heavily, retracting his hand like he was shot. "If we had a competition right now, you would've definitely won by a long shot."

When he turned to look over at Dipper, he did not see a smile. Or a frown. Just a dull look. Dipper was staring off into space, eyes focused only on the drawing of Will itself. Will let him, only because he didn't know what to say himself. "Thanks for drawing me" or maybe even "You didn't need to do this, but thank you for making me look so perfect"? Because even without looking in a mirror, Will knew he wasn't perfect. But Dipper still made him look like it, and that's what made him confused the most.

"You..." Dipper croaked out, eyes crinkling at the corners, "...you look like him."

"Like who, Dipper?" Will said gently.

"Like...like _him_." Dipper's eyes watered. Not out of pure sadness as tears would be trademarked as but with- with something more like frustration. Or anger. Confusion. Maybe even chaotic grief. Either way, Dipper didn't let those supposed tears fall, and blinked them away like they were never there in the first place.

"Will..." Dipper's face blanched, looking like it was getting hard for him to swallow down his own bile. It certainly was for Will. "Why...why does he look like you?"

"Look, this was a bad idea," Will said. He turned in his stool, facing Dipper and 'unintentionally' knocked the easel down. He caught it, but faced it away, so Dipper couldn't see it anymore. That didn't stop Dipper from looking like he saw a ghost. "Let's go home. I'll make you some pancakes this time, then maybe we could watch some of those mystery movies you like so much."

"No!" Dipper's eyes were nothing but orbs that reflected Will's own panic. "We're not- we're not going until you tell me _why_! Why?! William- you- why...why does he..." Dipper swallowed hard, looking like he was trying his best not to collapse. Or cry. Or scream. Maybe all of the above, for all William knew. " _Why does he look like you_?"

"I'm not him," Will blurted out. Because it was true. "I'm not him. I wouldn't- I couldn't lie to you, Dipper. But that doesn't mean I don't know why, but-"

"Then tell me!" Dipper looked about ready to fall in ruins of hysteria. "Tell me why he _looks like you_! _Tell me_!"

There were things bothering Dipper today. Damon, him, life itself. Probably even more things Dipper wasn't ready to tell him yet. But Will couldn't let this one thing be added on Dipper's shoulders. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve any of the things Bill Cipher gave him.

"I know you really want to know and that this is going to make you want to scream until your throat hurts but please don't let this get to you," Will said quietly. He leveled his eyes with Dipper's glossy ones, forcing every plead and forgiveness in his face. Emotions he told himself he wouldn't ever fall to his knees for. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you now, but I promise I'll tell you soon. I'll tell you everything even if it hurts me or you."

Dipper's bottom lip quivered pathetically, and he bit down on it to stop. "Why not?" he whispered.

"Because you trust me, don't you?"

Dipper's facial features softened. That was all Will needed to continue. "There has never been a point in my life where I told you that you were everything to me and I didn't mean it. Even though I kept lying to myself that you weren't and I was just saying that to hurt you. I've hurt you, I know I did and I still am but..." Will bit down on his own lip. They were both holding back screaming-loud emotions. They both knew it, and they both refused to let them out.

"Please...please don't think I don't love you. And I'm- I really am sorry about...about everything." _And everything that I might do again._

A heartbeat. Then three. Then five. Then seven-

And Dipper smiled back at him. It was barely there, but it was enough for Will to start breathing again.

"Let's take down that sketch," he proposed, hand already on the canvas. "I'm a teacher. I'm supposed to be teaching you how to draw yourself, not the other way around."

Will helped him take it down, letting it sit by the wall while Dipper pulled up another, smaller portrait-shaped one for Will to practice on. He pulled up a kneaded eraser and a thin stick, palming it over to Will to work with.

Dipper stood right behind Will while he worked. The moment Will had gripped the stick, Dipper immediately took action and showed him how to hold correctly, his fingers wrapped around Will's knuckles while they stroked a few lines together.

"That's your jaw line," Dipper explained. "We'll work with it more later. Now-"

"Hey, my jaw line is better than this," Will argued.

"Sure it is," Dipper snickered. His voice was still quiet, the result of their mild feud lately, but he was beginning to sound more like his overly sarcastic self. "Now, take the stick back and draw another line."

"What for?"

"You need a neck, Will."

Dipper helped him create his first decent self portrait, letting the time overlap without them noticing. The sky outside was a gorgeous orange and red now, a painting right over a house of painters and two lovers. 

Eventually, they finished with it. Will was only shading things he wanted to shade when Dipper pointed out the breast pocket for the suit Will chose. He asked for the charcoal stick back and Will gladly gave it back, watching in tender awe as Dipper sketched out a flower, stroking in the lines and etches like it was no problem. Like he drew that kind of flower hundreds upon millions of times.

It was the simple lines and etchings of a carnation flower.

"If it wasn't black coal at the moment, what color could you imagine the flower to be?" Will said excitedly. "I think it would be striped! You know, if I was planning to give it to you. A move only the Great William would do." He wiggled his eyebrows and Dipper only reacted with a chuckle, pushing Will to the side playfully. A striped carnation flower meant regrets; a love that is forbidden, or in most cases, not returned. If Dipper wanted nothing to do with him, Will would only want to wish him the best.

"Well, yeah. I could see you giving me something like that," Dipper laughed, watching Will shade in his killer jaw line. Dipper laughed even harder seeing Will work on it, but let him continue. "But hey, you never know if _I_ would give you one too."

"Oh?" Will teased.

"Yeah." Dipper tapped the flower in the breast pocket, tracing the outline of it with his finger. "A red one. A really, really deep red." That meant heartache. Of deep, unconditional love that cannot be control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That week on the boat was quite something for Dipper to subconsciously-or-maybe-not feel that way, huh.


	22. A Phantom of My Regards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, children. I am alive. Yay? Lol, but in all seriousness, regardless of whether or not anyone is reading this anymore, I'm finishing this to the very end. Why? Because I'm stubborn and stupid and an idiot, that's why. And listen, I had to read a few chapters of this fic to see where I left off (because yes it's been that long even for me), and you have no absolute idea on how many times I cringed and had migraines of my own writing (how do you guys live with this omg). But nevertheless, I shall continue! Shorter chapters, just short and sweet, for now on (I goddamned hope). I wanna get through this fic as quick as I possibly could since we're halfway there :D. 
> 
> Also did you guys know The Legacy of a Broken Heart is a year old now? Because I didn't find this out until yesterday. Oh my.

_"And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed in my neck_  
_I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet_  
 _And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now_  
 _Kiss me like you wanna be loved_  
 _You wanna be loved, you wanna be loved_  
 _This feels like falling in love, falling in love_  
 _We're falling in love."_

**[Kiss Me | Ed Sheeran](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn9IAPgz3KE) **

* * *

****" _SWEET MOSES_ , JUST PUT THESE GLASSES ON!" Will shouted. 

Orion wailed, batting his hand away and scuttling out of his evil clutches. "Nu-uh!" 

"Yu-huh!" Will huffed. "Orion, you're practically as blind as your great great uncle! You _wanna_ get mouth-foaming painful eye surgery at the age of fourteen?!"   

"But I don't wannaaaaa!" Orion wailed even louder, his voice carrying out throughout the Shack. If it was any louder, Will was sure all the windows would collapse on themselves. The kid ran around the living room, weaving in between Will's legs and grabby arms like being caught would be the death of him.

"Orion!" Will scolded, trying his best to keep his voice level and patient. But with how long this has been going on, the fuse was going to run out any second now. If he still had the little bit of demon he used to have in himself, the Shack would've exploded in a brilliant blue shower of flames, letting the human limbs and organs rain down from the sky like another awful metaphor for heavy rain. And to be quite honest, Will wished he did just that right now. Especially if could find the right magic to duplicate Damon's body just to trap them all in here to let more of his limbs fall from the-

"Willy can't catch him, Willy can't catch him!" Liz taunted from the couch.

Currently, the young twin of Orion Northwest sat cross-legged on the large old couch. She had her hands and ankles cuffed together by a stretchy sloth plushy that her mother brought into the Shack in a large gold chest. She looked more amused than bothered by this fact.

How the Pines family and he agreed to having the Shack as the Northwests' daycare, he didn't know. Pacifica might need to raise his paycheck soon.

"It's. Just. _Glasses_!" he yelled. He could feel himself running out of breath and he didn't want to be there to see these kids taunting him about his human body limitations. Some days, if not all, he just wanted to rip out his stupid eyeballs and limbs.

"I don't wanna!" Orion repeated, his scream growing in height. He turned around on a heel, just to stick out his tongue and blow a raspberry directly at Will. 

Will's scowl darkened. He folded the tiny blue glasses and tucked it over his collar, cracking his knuckles like he was preparing for the fight of his lifetime. "If you don't come over here and let me give you the gift of sight for your worthless seventy two years of life, I'll-" Will threatened.

"-what? You'll what?"

"Look! It's the cunt!" Liz said, doing her best to point in the direction of the gargoyle looking piece of shit standing in front of them.

Damon barely reacted to her choice of words, knowing perfectly well she could've chosen much...harsher profanities from William's lessons. Instead he stood there, a plate of fresh baked sugar cookies in his hands and a dirty apron draped over his chest. He scowled at Will and ignored the kids, a look much darker than the usual looks they threw at each other passing the hallways and during times they had to interact. 

" _Ya_?" Will said in mock innocence.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Language," Will accused.

"It's English," Damon replied sarcastically. He thrust the plate of cookies in Will's direction, still ignoring the fact that Orion was now dancing at his feet to reach for the cookies while poor Elizabeth was stuck writhing like a worm on the couch. "Why are you wearing suspenders and a elf hat? I know that the way you dress reflects the way you act, but this is stupider than you should be, William."

Will opened his mouth to shoot back, but one look at Liz told him to shut his mouth before he started another fire in the middle of the living room. 

" _Lederhosen_!" Liz exclaimed happily. Her words came out chopped with each syllable. And technically, that wasn't what he was wearing. 

"Leder...hosen. Okay," Damon said slowly. His eyes shifted from Liz to Orion, still dancing at his feet to stop at nothing for those cookies. Damon only brought the plate down by an inch, already being consumed all by the meddlesome toddler. Liz wailed for her brother to stop and give her some but Orion took the whole plate and ran away. Will only cackled.

With that, Damon stared at Will quite blankly, an eyebrow arched and lips pressed together in a look that only meant, "I'm not looking for trouble but we have to talk." Since Will had already memorized that look, he already knew how it ended; more trouble than talking.

"Can't this wait for later tonight or even tomorrow morning? No one wants to let me have a break today," Will groaned. He strode over to the couch to release Liz, breaking the eye contact between the two of them. Not even he was in the mood for fighting right now. Not when he had another pair of twins to take care of.

"No, it can't." Damon paused. 

Will had finally found the knot behind Liz's ankles and untied them free, causing Liz to jump up in victory and yell her brother's name out of the top of her lungs to let him know she was nearing freedom. Will then untied her wrists. She didn't move. She only watched him, curious eyes wondering what he wanted for her to do. Will patted her knee awkwardly, then looked up to Damon with a blank look. "Why can't it wait?" he demanded. 

Damon was in the middle of his untying his apron as he spoke. Nudging his head to the side where Orion had taken off, he said, "Let the kids get some fresh air first. They need it." Which, in babysitter talk, was, "They can't hear this. Make sure they don't."

"Liz, go outside with Orion," Will said quietly.

Liz smiled brightly, jumping off the couch like an automated command. "Okay!" she said, the cheeriness in her voice evident. "I'll just go play with Mommy!" And then she was gone.

Will and Damon sat in silence for a while, a minute or three at best. They watched the door where Orion and Liz had gone through, straining their ears for their laughs and their screams fading away to the forest of Gravity Falls. There was a natural barrier around the Mystery Shack- they would be fine, especially since Wendy was just outside doing the last of the tours. And of course, Mabel. Mabel's "ghost", at least.

Will swung his head back to Damon, slumping against the couch and throwing his "elf" hat to the floor with it. He'll change out once he dealt with this. "What do you want?" The irritation in his voice was starting to sound more aggressive than anything else.

"Dipper's looking for you," Damon said simply.

That caught him off guard for a wavering second. "Why?"

"Does it matter?" he snapped.

"Sure," Will said sarcastically, "because for all you know, he's looking for me because I'm late to our weekly make out sessions right behind your back and he's worried."

Damon's eyes darkened. He looked like he wanted to come over and throw a punch to Will's jaw, like he always did whenever Will taunted him like this, but he resisted. As much as they both wanted to throw each other out of the house for them to never be seen again, they needed to be civil. For Dipper's sake and for themselves. "I don't know why he's looking for you," Damon said carefully, "but he's looking for you."

Will pondered over that for a moment. He came up with nothing for the reasoning behind Dipper's sudden request. In fact, it's been kinda...weird, for the past couple of days. No, they weren't ignoring each other again. But they weren't looking for each other to talk either. It's either they see each other in the Shack and they hang out for a couple of minutes or hours, or they don't at all. And of course, the air around them. Awkwardness and ease all at once. Like infatuation and long time best friends all at once. For all he knew, that was the case.

"Where is he?" Will decided to ask. He didn't need to ask for anything else from Damon.

"Our room." Damon put emphasis on the first word, like somehow reminding Will that Damon and Dipper slept together every single night would make him remember his boundaries. "He's working on grading some English papers. Knock when you come in, he hates it when people bother him."

"I know, I know. Yeesh." Will rolled his eyes. He got up from his comfy position on the couch, resisting another eye roll when he realized that he needed to pass Damon in order to make his way to Dipper's room. Of course.

And just as he guessed, Damon stopped him by his elbow when he was just barely inches away from him. "You're not leaving just yet," Damon had whispered harshly in his ear. _Not this again,_ Will moaned.

"Quit doing this every time you know I'd be even meters away from Dipper!" Will snapped, taking his arm back from Damon's rough grasp. A welt had begun to turn a faint red on his elbow, but Will barely noticed. His blood pressure was too high for him to even feel it. "You made that deal with me to make sure I don't do anything to your precious little boyfriend. So why is it that you warn me, every single day, not to  _touch him_?"

Damon's jaw clenched hard. His eyes reflected William's face. Ironically enough, they both had the same expression on their faces; anger and frustration. For both two completely different reasons. They stared each other down, waiting for the other to back down and let this be over with. But none of them did, too stubborn to even let the smallest victory go to the other.

Yet William laughed after a moment, catching poor Damon off guard. His explanation was simple. "You're scared," he chortled. "You're scared that I could convince him enough to fall in love with me and let me do things to him that even _you_ -"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Damon shouted angrily. His tone was sharp and sudden. That fact alone was enough for Will to feel gleeful.

"Oh, so you _are,_ " he drawled. "Tell me, Damon, has Dipper mentioned me in your own company? Told you that he thought I looked stunning the night before? Told you I was a good friend? Told you that I was-?"

"He said nothing. _Nothing_ about you, Bill Cipher."

Will smiled. The bitterness dripped from his own lips even before he even opened them to speak. "Of course not," he said, "Bill Cipher does not exist."

"He may not to you, but he does to me. And to Wendy. And to Ford and Stan. And to _Dipper,_ " Damon said sharply. "I don't care who you think you are, but you are and will always be the same person who'll end up using Dipper like a puppet on the strings of a puppeteer."

Or, in this case and has been for nearly three years, it was William on the strings. 

But Will didn't say anything. 

"Did you even think about it, William? Did you even stop and think, when you were together and you had him and he had you, that you were going to lose him? That one day he'd stop loving you? Will, were you even _scared_ about that?" Damon pressed, each word more harried than the last. "Because I was and I still am, and if you were in the same position that I am, you would have gone _mad_ by this point."

"I didn't know," he said quietly. Of course he knew. What else would he dream about at night?

Damon only laughed. "You didn't know. You. Didn't. Know." Each word was a bite out of Will's pride. Damon shook his head. "You don't deserve him. You don't deserve a person who you weren't even afraid of losing. And look, I don't care if you still think of yourself as a demon, or you want to change for him and be a human. You are _pathetic_ and Dipper will never love you back again," he spat. "Because you need to realize that you can't have back what was never yours."

Damon's little speech didn't affect him in the slightest. Why? Because he was right. Will wasn't afraid of losing Dipper. He was goddamned terrified.

"Let this serve as a warning," Damon said softly, his eyes pulled low and his lips curled in a mocking smile. "You're not allowed to do anything to him without his permission. That, I know that you already know. But if I hear about you doing anything, absolutely anything, that he didn't like and you pushed too hard-"

"That won't happen," Will cut off. Too calmly and too confident. That raised Damon's eyebrows but Will kept his on blank face. "I won't let it happen."

Damon shook his head, looking slightly disappointed he didn't push harder. And he tried to move away, to let Will pass and finally find out what Dipper wanted from him, but Will was the one to grab him this time. Right by the elbow, right where Damon grabbed him last. His grip was nicer, knowing perfectly well that if he left any marks on Dipper's oh so perfect boyfriend, the blame will always come onto him.

"It won't happen," he whispered, "because if I touch him or kiss him or do absolutely anything _filthy_ to your darling Dipper..." He laughed, just a little. "Just know that it was because he wanted it too."

Damon's face shadowed with a dark look capable of murder. But he didn't react as badly as William wanted. He took his arm back, glaring at Will harshly before he turned around and left Will alone with nothing but a bothered sigh. 

Will considered that a victory either way. He made his way up to his room first to change out. Then he would make his way to Dipper. 

* * *

 ****He knocked twice on Dipper's door. Then twice again before he said, right through the cracks of the door, "Dipper. _Dipper._ Your asshole of a boyfriend told me you wanted me in here. Can I open the door?"

"Yeah- what?" Dipper sounded just as groggy as an English substitute teacher should be. It was only 7 PM, but Will knew by now that Dipper's sleep schedule was either 6 PM or 6 AM. By the sound of his voice, Dipper was one hour off schedule. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Come in, I guess."

Will grasped the cool doorknob, turning it to open the squeaky door of Dipper and Damon's mess of a room. He made a mental note to oil the stupid door for Dipper one day. "Still working on papers, Pines?" he asked, walking right in and closing the door right behind him. He cringed at the rattle it made. And he had to blink right after from the absence of light. It was so dark in the room, save for the amber glow of a lamp on a desk.

Dipper laughed humorlessly, his back to Will. He set down a stapled pile of paper to his right, heaving a heavy sigh. "I just finished one when you knocked. I'm just about halfway done," he informed victoriously.

"Maybe you should take a break," Will suggested.

"I did."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. Yeah. Just seven hours ago."

Will frowned. "Another break wouldn't kill ya, would it?"

Dipper groaned, letting Will take the sweet time to look around the mess of a room. "Will, I know you're concerned, but I've had worst before- way worst, actually. Like I-only-had-twenty-four-hours-to-correct-eighty-five-tests kind of worst. I need to grade them all by midnight."

Will was only half listening by this point. His eye caught the blue rose, still sitting there like a delicate trophy bathing in the warm glow of Dipper's lamp. Petals had fallen off. It was starting to look sad. It was no longer equivalent to the beauty it was when William had first gifted it, but it was still there. And that was the only reassurance that Will needed.

"Will?"

Will's eyes snapped back to Dipper, who now had turned his swiveling chair to face him. A pen was tucked underneath the mess of his curls, another one being used as a fidget in his left hand. "I wasn't listening- what'd you say?" he asked in slight embarrassment.

Dipper's lips curled in a slight smile. He nudged his head to the chair beside him. "You could sit down if you want to," he said simply. The second chair was probably usually occupied to a certain boyfriend of Dipper's. And having the chance to be the one there instead of Damon gave Will a burning satisfaction for some reason. So of course, he basically snapped to the challenge and made his way over next to Dipper.

Dipper, on the other hand, didn't wait for Will to sit down and had already swiveled back to face the awful papers in front of him. Will sat down, bouncing a little childishly on the bed. He found it a little funny that Dipper moved his desk to be right next to his desk- you'd just have to get up and move a couple inches to drop dead onto the bed. But with a workaholic like Dipper, Will didn't have the kind of mindset to judge him. "So." Will propped his elbow on the desk, resting his chin on his hand. He looked down at the paper Dipper was grading. "English papers, huh? I'd compare them to the devil himself but I've met the devil."

Dipper chuckled. He scratched on a tiny check mark by the side of a paragraph instead of answering William.

That only made Will frown. "What are you forcing your students to write about this time? An argument about Shakespeare's sexuality? Or how the minimum wage should be raised or kept?" he asked quite curiously. A simple question to start a ramble in Dipper, he knew.

"Please. Those are peasant questions," Dipper said with a snort. "I'm substituting an AP English classroom- persuasive essays are sixth grade level for them. I made them explain an emotion to me without actually naming it for a creative writing prompt. It led to some...interesting thoughts."

"Please don't tell me half of them tried to explain love."

Dipper grinned. "See, I'd love to tell you no but I'd be lying to you, William."

Will groaned, leaning backwards. "If that's the case, then that means this one simple assignment is going to bring down about ten percent of their grade."

Dipper shrugged. "I'm cruel."  

"Must be the Pines gene."

Dipper only snickered. He crossed out a whole sentence on the paper he was grading, writing in chicken scratch by the margin. Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath, "I swear this kid didn't pass fifth grade spelling."

"Also, he spelled the word 'spaghetti' three different ways in the next few lines," Will chirped.

Dipper grunted. He flipped over to the first page of the kid's paper, writing a big zero at the top without looking at the rest of the sentences. "And here I was thinking that this class could pull through even with a seventy five percent on their final grade," Dipper exclaimed. He slammed the poor guy's paper into the pile closest to Will, taking another one from his left to grade yet again with a pinch of the nose. 

Will laughed. "Ah, high school," Will drawled, "I never went to one but I'm sure it was nothing but chaos and melodramatic tragedies of teen pregnancies and cliques. I love it."

"You should work at the high school sometime then," Dipper said. "Some help would be appreciated from yours truly. And you're faster at reading their sloppy writing. My mind gets too groggy after the sixth or seventh paper." 

"I'm not really good with kids," Will shrugged.

"You're kidding, right?" Dipper said in disbelief. "Every kid at the daycare knows your name and they'd gladly trade their own parents for you, probably. Doesn't help you'd be walking into a building of horny young adults- you'd fit like a glove there," he said sarcastically.

"Horny young adults," Will purred, "you make it sound like you're not only including those students but young adults in general. Like you, for example."

Dipper pursed his lips. His way of saying _you have five seconds to shut your mouth before I do it for you_ probably. "Volunteer at the school- I'll give you some extra cash if you do," Dipper bribed.

"Am I required to?"

Dipper's mouth twitched. "No."

"Then why should I do it?" Will asked him innocently.

Then Dipper groaned. He threw a pen at Will's chest, which only bounced ineffectively back to the desk. Will laughed at Dipper's expense, chortling, "As much as you want me around, we both need our own personal space once in a while, Pines."

Maybe it was the soft glow of the lamp shadowing Dipper's face, but the very very tips of Dipper's ears had slowly began to turn a faint pink. Dipper tried to hide it with a small frown, one that seemed too wobbly and embarrassed to seem disapproving. "I- I know that," he said weakly, clearing his throat harshly when it came out too feeble. "I just thought being with you would, ah- ease the tension between us?" It came out as a question. 

Will tilted his head curiously. "What tension?"

Dipper's brows creased together, his lips pressed just as tight. "I'm not even going to try and explain that one to you," he said distastefully.

Will only smiled, if not disdainfully. "Well, if you only asked me up here to tell me to voluntarily go to high school just to keep you company, I guess it's toodles for me, hmm?" he said cheerfully.

"I- what?" If Dipper didn't look confused before, he did now. He looked at Will almost strangely. "I thought you came in here just to check up on me?"

"Didn't I _just_ told you when I knocked that-" Will said in exasperation. Wait. Oh. Dipper probably didn't hear him. Will swallowed the rant down his throat. "So you didn't want me in here?"

Dipper took his precious time to answer that one, believe it or not. He looked down at the paper still in need of correcting in front of him, his fingers already back to fidgeting the cheap pen in his grasp. "Well, of course I want you in here," Dipper said carefully. "But you said I asked for you to be here but I didn't so I kinda- huh." Dipper paused, a blank look settling over his face. "Maybe, maybe I'm just tired and I really did want you up here to get me something or- or yeah," he muttered, hands coming up over his face to rub it like it would help him wake up.

He looked at Will, a sheepish smile creeping up on his lips. "Sorry," he apologized, "I can't remember what I said in the last few hours, I probably wanted to ask you for something. Now I can't, uh, remember it, exactly."

Will made a noise in the back of his throat. His finger played with the white out on Dipper's desk, only half listening to Dipper's words. "It's fine," he said truthfully. "I just thought..." _you know, maybe you wanted to finally talk to me like a real person again._ But saying that out loud would only make Dipper frown. And make him sound, of course, thirsty as hell.

_"Oh, I remember now."_

Will's head snapped up to him. "What was it?"

_"I wanted to tell you I love you."_

Will's breath hitched. Those words hit him like an arrow dead between the ribs. And just like the arrow, he became numb to it. They sounded too unnatural for Dipper. He blinked.

And blinked again. 

Dipper was now looking at him, clearly confused to the paleness Will's skin had taken up. "William?" he asked, the concern clear as day in his voice. "William, are you okay? You were fine like a couple seconds ago and now you're-"

"-say that again," Will croaked. "Say it."

Dipper's confusion deepened. "Say what?"

"What you just said!" Will screamed. "What the hell did you say to me?!"

_"That I love you?"_

Will felt the heat rise to his head. No. No, no- _no._ He gripped his pants like he was going to die any minute. And perhaps he would. His heart banged like a drum in his chest, hard and strong and absolutely _loud._ This was real. This wasn't real. No, it was real. It was real and more real than anything he ever known because Dipper was looking at him the same way he used to when everything was still a silly game. 

The- the same way Dipper looked at Damon. But now he was looking at Will.

"Tell me it's you," Will whispered. If he had spoken any louder, he was afraid Dipper would hear the shakiness in them. "Mason Pines, tell me it's you who said that and not- not some phantom heart I keep holding onto."

"Will," Dipper said softly. He dropped his voice as low as Will's, yet his was softer. Like how a mother would calm a child. "No one else is in here. Who else would be telling you that?"

Will couldn't breathe.

"Will? Will, are you-"

He had his hand on Dipper's thigh the whole time. Dipper had his hands gripped on Will's biceps. And when Will had snapped back to reality, he shifted his eyes over to Dipper and saw his own desire. Not lust- but true desire of a person that laid in front of them. 

Will breathed in deep. Then he exhaled, slow and unsteadily. He pressed his forehead against Dipper's, looking into the same brown eyes that he spent years having nightmares over. And if this was a nightmare now- he didn't know. A very beautiful nightmare that he wanted to end but to also remember. "I can't do this," he whimpered. "You know I can't. I can't- can't just..."

Dipper was on his lap. They were pressed against the back of the bed like somehow Dipper had pushed him over to the very end in a blink. And, in that same blink, Dipper had a handful of Will's hair gripped tight and Will's lips against his with the same seized vehement. 

And each kiss was met with more coal to the fire. They pressed their bodies close, their hands roaming every part of each other, like if they were close enough, their satisfaction would be met. But by gods, it never was. It was never enough. They needed more of each other, no matter how they tried and tried to feed the empty hole. Making out and hands all over could only get them so far. William wanted _more-_ and with the moan that escaped the brunet's lips when they grinded, he knew Dipper wanted more too.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't do it knowing Dipper was going to be corrupted by somebody else in the morning. 

It was so hard forcing himself to stop. It was harder to pry Dipper off, the other just as caught up in their time together was William was. They were sweaty and sticky and tired, yet their flame was still burning all over. 

"You said you loved him," Will panted against their lips, their kiss too messy not to coat their lips with glossy red and leave their chins wet with saliva, " _you said you loved him._ If you love him so much why are you- why are you doing this with me?"

"Please don't talk about that," Dipper whimpered against his lips. "I didn't mean it."

Why was he talking like that?

"You didn't mean it?" Will's breathing was restricting him to nothing but short pants. "Then that means you don't love him. Dipper, you don't say things like that- I know you don't. Why would you-?"

Dipper cut him off with a kiss. A chaste, quick peck to the lips that though it was soft, it was enough to shut Will up.

"I don't know," Dipper whispered against his lips, "I don't know and I don't care. Please...please, just keep kissing me. Every time I kiss you..." He kissed Will for a brief moment, like not kissing for more than ten seconds would stop the spell over them. "It's like I'm kissing Damon, but you're more..."

And there it was again. Damon. It was always him. It stabbed him hard to be compared but as long as he was kissing Dipper, he'd much rather have Dipper rambling about how great Damon was than to not have this moment. He bit down on Dipper's lower lip, just to serve as a reminder that he was Will and not _him._ "I'm more persistent?" he offered up with a chuckle.

Dipper kissed him harder. The sudden force surprised even Will, to the point Will gripped Dipper's sides firmer for leverage. Dipper groaned against their lips at the pain of Will's death grip. He shifted on Will's lap, rutting against poor William like he couldn't have enough. Will kissed him even harder than he had in  a desperate, long kiss that he was yearning to have. He had a feeling that he might not get this back- at least not for a while. In the end, Dipper will be his anyway- he always got everything. It wasn't always now, but it was always later. But he preferred the present. Greed would always be a trait he could never overcome.

"Don't leave me again," Will whispered in between kisses. Dipper pecked his lips when he paused for the shortest breath. Will's grip on Dipper's side seemed to grow tighter, if that was possible. "Please don't leave me again," he whimpered.

Dipper kissed him again. Hard and long and passionately. "I won't," Dipper said quietly. There was no emotion to his words. "Because even if I'm not kissing you, William...I really, really do want you."

Want was a generous word, wasn't it?

Because saying he wanted Dipper was just as easy as saying a child wanted some ice cream. The urgency just wasn't...enough.

Perhaps that was why he felt such a wave come upon him when he seemed to have blinked, to see Dipper certainly not on his lap and still sitting on the desk where they had left off before it all went down.

This version of Dipper (the real one, he knew), was staring at him, completely in concern. There was no fire in his eyes anymore. Not even a tiny hint of a dying ember. "William?" Dipper asked him. The concern was there, but it wasn't as severe as it was before. A friendly type of concern. And that only made William's heart ache even more. "William, you're staring at me again. What happened?"

 _You happened,_ Will wanted to scream at him. _YOU HAPPENED! IF YOU WEREN'T IN MY LIFE, THIS NEVER WOULD'VE HAPPENED!_

Will was craving too much. He craved so, so much more of Dipper. He couldn't breathe again, even though the air around him was as fresh as it could get. His nails dug into his knees like sharp needles and the voices weren't even there to haunt him, which somehow made it _worst._ _  
_

Dipper's eyes suddenly darkened. Will had blanked out there. If he had said anything or changed the expression on his face, what he was thinking right now would be as clear as day. Especially to Dipper.

"William-"

He didn't hear the rest of it. He couldn't. Will got up and stomped out his room. Out the door, slammed it, and down the stairs to the outside. As he passed Wendy right outside the Shack, who currently had two tired looking toddlers in her arms, he shouted back at her, "Don't come looking for me. I'm just getting some air."

"What? Dude, Pacifica is going to have your head if you're not here to-" Wendy called back. 

"I DON'T CARE!" Will yelled. He disappeared behind the pine trees without as much as a glance. 

The sky over him was a beautiful shade of red. In a few minutes, it would turn a dark blue to showcase the night stars. This shade of red reminded him of blood and of the apocalypse he started over this town not even a decade ago. 

He didn't know how long he's been walking for. But it was long enough for his shins to ache and for his lungs to be filled with acid. In front of him stood what the Gravity Falls residents thought were Bill Cipher's grave. The stone statue of the outstretched hand and the face of the demon, covered in moss and dents caused by the children who kicked him out of temptation. The hand was squeaky clean- even the stupidest of all wouldn't dare start what happened yet again. William fell to his knees. His legs became damp with the forest's wet grass. The sky in front of him turned a depressing gray. 

He wanted Dipper. He wanted Dipper  _so bad._

"Do you _really_ want him?" a voice chided him like a parent would a child. "Or do you need him? Because wanting one is to crave. To desire. Needing him, on the other hand...it seems like a demand." 

Funny how those words were exactly what he had thought. But to hear it out of another's mouth- it made Will feel his desperation skyrocket. 

Will turned around to face a grin. A grin that was identical to the one he used to wear as the wolf in sheep's clothing of Bill Cipher. As if he was looking in a mirror, the man blinked as he had in surprise.

"Hello," he said. For his uncle to appear before him meant only two things. Either he knew William was going to break under the pressure or, more doubtfully but not completely unbelievable, the deal between them was coming to a close. Will could hardly tell which was better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooaaa, we're halfway theeeere. Whooooa, William better say his praaaaayers. (This chapter is all over the place isn't it lol)


	23. A Sober Dipper is a Sad Dipper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bloop, sorry for missing some (i.e. lots of) updates D: I had to enter mid-life crises, ya know ya know the usual. Also yes, the title is a reference to that one chapter in The Legacy, don't shame me lol. Like I promised, this chapter is shorter (kinda), and so will the next ones. 
> 
> P.S. I promise you, this chapter broke the deepest parts of my heart to write and it has to get worst before it gets better (William you obscene idiOT-). Please sit down before you read this chapter because it's just DDD: 
> 
> (If you haven't caught on, **dub-con warning**. It's dub-con, right? I don't even know I'm sorry)

_"You're never gonna love me, so what's the use?_   
_What's the point in playing a game you're gonna lose?_   
_What's the point in saying you love me like a friend?_   
_What's the point in saying it's never gonna end?_   
_You're too proud to say that you've made a mistake_   
_You're a coward 'til the end_   
_I don't wanna admit that we're not gonna fit_   
_No, I'm not the type that you like_   
_Why don't we just pretend?"_

**[Lies | Marina & The Diamonds ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsnlBtlimBA) **

* * *

****"I would love to say that seeing my dear nephew is a pleasantry, but you wouldn't share my views, would you?" his uncle purred, the malice rubbing off of his words.

"No," William said simply. "What do you want from me, old pal?" 

His uncle swirled around him, his steps light and somewhat gleeful. It maddened Will than he cared to admit even to himself. It reminded him of a certain dream demon. "What, am I not visit my own beloved relative? That is cruel for you to think, Bill Cipher," he said softly. It maddened Will even more, that his uncle would dare use that name and toss it around like a child would with their toy. 

" _Never_ ," Will breathed, "call me that again, uncle."

His uncle stopped, right behind him. William could feel his breathing right down his neck, though it was possible it was a trick of the human mind. The winds around them blew too hard to carry even the most sturdy of breaths. And for a moment, it was all they heard. The soft cries of the winds, like even the earth knew of William's horrible fate. It mourned for the loss of a man who wanted nothing but to leave behind the facade of a demon. 

"Of course, of course," his uncle said. A deep breath. "You no longer...wish to be what you were. But my only concern, William, is if you've done this to rebel against the fate of your own family, or to rebel the customs you were molded to serve?"

"They're the same thing. What's your point?" Distaste and joy filled the emptiness within Will's words. Like they used to.

"I asked you a question." Somber rage behind a cheerful gentleness.

"And I answered it." William whirled on his heel, meeting the color of eyes he used to hold. The bright amber of a possessed body struck a chord within Will, and suddenly there was no breath inside his lungs. His uncle was possessing a human body. Those brought happy memories to him, didn't it? "You-" Will took a shuddering breath, "You, of all people, wouldn't come and visit me because you wanted to see how I was doing. You want something from me." They always did. They always do. It's the only thing his people and humans had in common.

The possessed body looked at him up and down, regarding him carefully. "You are a smart man, William."

"I know this merely from experience."

"Then you also know that it's not something I want to bring upon you."

Will sneered. "If you could, you would've drowned me in a pool of acid and then scraped out of my remaining skin to hang above your doorway as a good luck omen." His uncle smiled as cruelly as his sneer. Yet he didn't say anything.

He took a deep breath. Then two. Then three. Each one came in and out like howling wind would through a broken window. And he released those words, as simply as he thought about them.

"What do you want?"

His uncle's smile widened. A trademark grin, that of cruelty and chaos. Bill Cipher had perfected that a long time ago. "Oh, my sweet boy, there are many things in this world that I want," he said happily, and he began pacing around William once more. "No one lives in this reality without wanting something, even if it is as simple as wanting a glass of water from the counter. But you understand that you and I have one thing in common, don't you? That we both want something bigger than that glass of water, and exchange it for something as- let's say, a jug of that same water?"

"Metaphors don't help in situations like this, Uncle," Will snapped. "Ya know, if you wanted to laugh at how much great progress I'm making, you should've put it on video and left it at that. Share it with the folks back home- I'm sure they would love to laugh at me with you."

Those amber eyes darkened as murky as the clouds above them. Will wanted to laugh. He hit a sweet spot. There was no folks back home- they were all dead, obviously.

"And I'm sure they will too," his uncle said quietly. "But for now, I wonder, of how much progress _you_ think you're making?"

"Man, you really do hate me, don't cha?" Will snarked out those words. "You're here to laugh at me. You knew what happened. Actually, _you_ made those things happen to me. You set me up for something you knew I would _LOSE_!" His voice was going hoarse- he hasn't shouted this loud since...

"You're joking, right?" His uncle's words rose with his. "I want nothing more than to see you make your redemption, my nephew, but you refuse to even acknowledge the selfishness you make with your own actions. Tell me, William, did you make this bet to help yourself or because you truly care about that boy?"

When William didn't speak, his uncle screamed louder. To make him see sense, to make him answer a question he didn't even know the answer to. " _TELL ME_!"

"Obviously myself!" William snapped. "You know that too! I AM SELFISH, I KNOW I AM, BUT DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S BECAUSE YOU MADE ME THIS WAY?! DO YOU?"

His uncle had gone quiet. He had too. The wind died down during their brawl of shouting, like the all the drawn breaths they took to scream it all out was enough to suck out the wind. Yet, the air was still icy enough for it to seep into his skin. The frigidness of his bones made him feel weak. Human.

It didn't matter that he had spent years in this human body- he hated the feeling of being human every single time. 

And maybe that's why he snapped.

His body shook, subtly but painfully. For a moment he thought it was from the air, cold and unforgiving, but instead it was his own emotions. Overwhelming and so much more staggering than the cold around him. Is this what it felt like to give in? To feel loss? Because never once in his life would he have thought that losing would be an option.

"Tell me why," Will whispered. Any louder and he was afraid he would lose it. "Tell me why I saw those- those _things._ " Disgust was evident in his voice. "If you wanted me to suffer, I know you have better ways to do it than that. Throw me in a pool of flesh eating piranhas, feed me to a bear who hasn't eaten in days, blow me up to little bits of limbs! You have all this power to do anything to me but yet you choose the most creative of routes!"

William laughed, breathless and worn out. His uncle did not. He merely watched his nephew, his murky cat-like eyes watching him like a feline about to pounce. 

"You wanted to think he liked you. That he was infatuated," he said simply. He tilted his head slightly to the side in sheer curiosity. "In fact, you keep this up and your mind will go crazy over wanting him to love you. You want that, don't you? To end this and gain back control? My, even when you were still learning how to properly eat food, you always loved control, especially if it was you holding all the strings."

"I don't..." he said quietly.  

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you going to say you don't want control?" his uncle snapped. "Because I have certainly heard worst lies from you. You don't want just control over this town or the world or every dimension your greedy little hands can get on, but you want to control _him_. You want him. You always have, haven't you? Isn't that why you were so much more interested in him than the girl or the anomaly of an old scientist or anyone else you decided to mess with?" His voice grew stronger with each word. Stiffer, angrier. 

"Even before he was born, you felt it. You knew he would end up something more to you than a toy, and you kept telling yourself it wasn't a bond but an excuse to break him. But you can't run, my beloved nephew, you can't run from fate. You can't stop yourself from caring about him even though you tell yourself you're heartless. You kept telling yourself that and forced yourself to not help him when he was going to die solely because you didn't want to prove me right. You didn't want to let me know you love him, that you love him so much that the first time in forever this boy had the power to change you, that you were beyond scared of that-"  

"Shut your mouth. Right now." By this point, Will felt like was no longer breathing. His chest hurt. More specifically, the place where his heart should be. "Shut up," he gritted out again, "Shut up, shut up, shut up, _shut up_ , SHUT UP, SHUT UPSHUTUPSHUTUP!"  

"YOU LOVE HIM!" his uncle roared. "BILL CIPHER, YOU ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH THAT BOY TO THE POINT WHERE HE MADE YOU DO THINGS YOU DON'T EVEN REALIZE, AND YOU NEED TO _LISTEN_ TO ME!"  

William could do nothing but gawk at his uncle.

His uncle took a deep breath. Then another. It was as unsteady as the last. He massaged the bridge of his nose, looking somehow disappointed and irritated at the same time. 

"You manipulated him," he said softly. "Your magic drew strength from your feelings rather than your head. It became so powerful that it forced your own thoughts to...to bend to your desires. Your fantasy of having him almost became reality." 

Reality. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "What happens to every human," his uncle said plainly, "everything becomes irresistible and you couldn't help it."

Will felt the sweat run down his back. It was as cold as the air around him. "That can't happen." His throat closed up. " _That can't happen_ ," he snarled, his eyes narrowed to nothing but slits. "I'm not human in the inside- emotions don't affect me." He laughed, yet it sounded hollow to the even hollower atmosphere.

"I agree of you not being human," his uncle said. "You are more barbarian than human."

"If you came here _just to-_ " Will roared.

"Calm yourself," his uncle interrupted. He put up a hand, almost as if doing so would stop his nephew. And Will hated that it did. "I am here just to warn you. And perhaps...guide you to the right path. William, I know there's a part of you deep down that regretted doing what you've done. You're guilt-ridden. I could tell."

"Yeah?" Will laughed again. It was no longer hollow. It was loud and joyful and so unbearably fake that it filled the entire sky. "Well, buddy, I _don't_. I don't regret it. If I could, I'd rewind everything I've seen, from Mother's scream to your own scream as you saw your own brothers burn down with your own stinkin' DIMENSION!" He hated even more that it wasn't true. He hated that even though it was deceitful, he sounded exactly like who he used to be. And, in a way, he didn't regret that night after all.

His uncle's eyes, those slitted ambers of a possessed man, held nothing but...pity. That was the one thing Will didn't want to see. "There is no more evil for you, William," he said sympathetically, "I'm sorry but soon...your powers will be no more. Have fun with your numbered days, William. Because soon you will be as human as Dipper Pines."

And oh, he'll have fun. He was just planning one of his funnest days, actually.

* * *

****Margaritas. Vodka. Tequila and beer and whiskey and everything in between. The place reeked of it, mixed by the sweat of the dancers who danced the night away like this was their last day on earth. And with the fact that people were having a 'smartie party' by the corner where they could hide the bowl before any authorities could find it, it could be true. Will sipped on his orange tequila. It wasn't as good as he remembered it, in all honesty. It was too sweet, too sour, and too bitter all at once. His tongue was having a field day with all the drinks he took, each drink signifying an hour of him waiting. And waiting.

Obviously, all that waiting could never go to waste. For the past two hours, William had found his target, sitting alone at the opposite side of the bar with no knowledge of him knowing that someone was observing every move he took. Will just needed to wait a little longer.

Before he left for the local and one of the only bars in Gravity Falls, William had made sure his dear Pines had plans to come. They'll just have a few drinks together, he told Dipper. Just a few, just as friends celebrating being- well...friends. Dipper wasn't a hard man to persuade. He was smart in every way but one, and that was thawed by his recklessness that came with decisions and ignorance like this. Will almost felt a sort of pity for him, but even he knew that it wasn't Dipper he had to pity, but himself. 

Downgraded to a  _human._ Humiliated by his own uncle in a game that was rigged against him from the start. "Find your true love and you will be set free." Isn't that what they say in every happy ending fairy tale? Too bad this dimension didn't have the proper setting for one.

Currently, Dipper Pines was having his eighth alcoholic drink. He downed that eighth like a champ. He sat there with his empty glass, scratching his head. Even with a simple motion as a head scratch, the sluggishness of his actions were quite visible to the ones who looked a little harder. Eight drinks would've made someone pass out by now. Not Dipper though. He's been to this bar so many times that William wondered how he never noticed how frail this stick of a brunet really was. It didn't help that Dipper was given these drinks on the house. A simple man wouldn't dare question something like free drinks, now would they?

Will sipped once more at his own drink. He could already tell this was the last one he had before he approached his friend. Dipper was moving too slow, his blinks too visible, his brain too jumbled up to really, truly see what was happening at the moment. Will couldn't help but smile through his drink.

Dipper's lips began to move. They moved as if they slurred, yet Will knew exactly what he was trying to tell his bartender over the headache-inducing pulse of the music. One more drink, he must've begged the bartender. The guy took one look at his line of glasses and shook his head. The bartender spoke louder and clearer than Dipper, to the point that even Will could just barely make out his words. "Listen, I don't know what your problem is today, Dipper," he said pitifully. "More papers? Stan lost it and died? What ever it is, I don't think you've downed this much alcohol in a couple hours since-"

"Don't you fucking say her name!" Dipper snapped. "Look man, nothing's wrong with me. I'm just bored."

"Bored. Right." The bartender looked unsure of Dipper's words, but they were true. Dipper had waited for him for four hours, even though Will was already hiding in a corner, waiting for a cue that was still hours and hours away. Naturally, if you were bored at a bar, you drink. Especially with those complimentary drinks that were anonymously given to him every fifteen minutes. 

Will set his glass down on the counter, shoulders tensed. The honeyed excuse was already on his tongue the moment he left his stool. He stalked down the aisle, passing the drunkards and the sobered without as much as a glance. Dipper was still in his seat, alone and his hands holding his head as he moaned. The effects of alcohol was unforgiving. "Mason."

Dipper blinked, twice then four times. His pupils adjusted to the sudden bright lights of a new flashy performer on stage and he had to force his head to swing slightly to the side to look at William. "Don't call me that," was all he mumbled. 

"I'll call you what I want." Will shrugged, taking the stool next to Dipper's. "I'm sorry, Dipper, I lost track of time down in the basement until I was two hours too late. I tried to get here as fast as I could, really, but the traffic- sweet Moses, I didn't even know Gravity Falls had enough people for a traffic jam!" he exclaimed, using the back of his hand to massage his forehead. The whole time he spoke, Dipper's head was slowly beginning to droop, no matter how hard the other had tried to stop it. 

"It's... _fiiiiiiiiiine,_ " Dipper slurred. He waved a hand in dismissal, his words as slow as his hands. "I'm just...really...really tired. Will, can we go home?"

"Already?" Will frowned. "I just got here!"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry," Dipper answered. He did sound sorry, under all those layers of slurred speech. "It's- I mean- it's already two in the morning, William. I still need ta...do English papers. And sleep. Yeah, I really really need that sleep. I really need to use the- the sleep." 

"You've used the word 'really' five times already," Will mused. 

Dipper groaned. In pain or in annoyance, it was hard to tell. "Can you see how wasted I already am, Will?" he said. "I can't even...English. Right now. Will, please...just...bring me home? Please?"

Will waved the bartender over to take away Dipper's glasses as he spoke. Tilting his head, Will asked him, "Did you bring your car here with you? Or did you ride with Damon?"

"Why, are you jealous?" Dipper snorted. He planted his forehead against the sticky counter. Will couldn't imagine how much that counter smelled of alcohol. "I'm _messing_ with cha. I took my car with me. Why?" he slurred.

"Well, I need to know so I could bring that car home too," Will said simply. He put his elbows on the counter, leaning against it casually. Conversations were always a way to start. That, and he didn't want Dipper to see him shaking either. He wouldn't be doing this if he didn't envy Damon for taking his own property. "How did you convince your devil of a boyfriend to let you go drinking with me, anyway?" he asked in genuine curiosity. Not in seven different types of hell would Will ever let Dipper go drinking with anyone or even at all if he were Damon. 

"I didn't convince him," Dipper laughed. He pressed his cheek against the counter this time to turn his eyes to Will. "He doesn't know I'm here. He just thinks I'm with Pacifica right now. I'm supposed to sneak into one of the guest rooms after this too. Can't let him see me until tomorrow and all that."

"You lied to him?"

"Come _on_ , Will," Dipper moaned. "Even I need some release now and then, don't you think? Damon...Damon's a good candidate but he's too..."

"Stuck up?" Will provided. "Stupid? Controlling? Awful?"

"Weird, since those are words I'd describe _you._ " When Will made a face, Dipper laughed. He pushed himself off against the counter, propping an elbow up instead to rest his chin. "Will, I'm kidding. You wanted to take me drinking, right? What's the point of drinking without releasing some stress? You look like you have to take the biggest test of your life tomorrow. _Relax,_ William."

"Who are you and what have you done with the ball of anxiety named Dipper Pines?"  Will demanded.

Dipper laughed. "Will, you're really fun to hang with, you know that?" he suddenly said.

"Huh. With how many times you run away from me, one would think that you thought of me as the embodiment of the plague, Dipper," Will drawled. 

"Sometimes I do feel that way, thanks," Dipper joked. He ran his fingers through his hair, exhaling heavily. The music pounded around them. The smell of liquor was so strong that taking a whiff would've probably gotten someone drunk. It was perfect. "But seriously, Will...take me home now. You can make it up to me for ditching me the day after I get over my hangover. I just need some...some sleep."

"Sleep doesn't really get you that far with alcohol," Will said, "with how much you've drank in the past, you probably already know that. Why are you trying so hard to ignore me?"

Dipper looked puzzled. The alcohol messing with his head didn't help either. "Ig-? William, I'm not ignoring you. I'm just super- super mega drunk right now."

"So?"

" _So_?" Dipper looked mystified. Even in this state, he knew exactly when Will was playing around and when he was not. " _Will_ \- just take me home. I'll do it myself if you're still going to be an asshole. Just let me go home."

"I didn't say I was keeping you here." Will shrugged. But seriously- he didn't.

Dipper let out a harsh breath through his nose. It reminded Will of a snorting horse. Dipper tried to keep his chin held high as he tried to hop off his stool. His seat wobbled and he nearly face-planted the ground face first, before Will wrapped an arm around his midsection and pushed him back in his stool not so gently. "You're drunk." It was a statement to Dipper, but a gleeful confirmation to Will. 

"No kidding I'm drunk," Dipper shot. He blinked owlishly. He looked dazed. That is, up until he turned his head to Will. His eyes were brimmed with annoyance, downright to the crinkled corners. "Will, what's the matter with you? It was _your_ fault you got here late. I  don't even think there's traffic at midnight, or ever, for that fucking matter!"

"Where," Will breathed, "is your boyfriend at the moment?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

Dipper, as confused as he was at Will's question, saw no harm in it. Just a little annoyed that his trip home was taking longer than usual. "Home," he said bluntly, "he isn't expecting me back until tomorrow night. You know, enough time for me to get over my stupid hangover. Smart, right?" He guffawed, like it was the most tactical he's ever done in his life. Against his boyfriend, it probably was. He probably didn't even know that it was stupid of him to do anyway. Stupid for him but brilliant, absolutely brilliant, for William.

Carefully, Will placed a hand over Dipper's knee. The poor boy probably thought it was a sweet gesture, to make sure he didn't fall over. Then Will leaned over, up until his lips were so very close to the outer shell of Dipper's ear. Every breath and every word could only be taken up by Dipper. 

"Let's not go home. Not yet," Will murmured.

"We can't go anywhere else," Dipper whispered back. And still, the innocent brunet wasn't taking a hint. Not by how close Will was near him, or how Will's words slurred without that infamous alcoholic drawl. 

"Yes, we can," Will insisted. He sat back, just a little. If he can't make Dipper listen with his actions, he'll make Dipper listen with his words. Then his actions. Most definitely his actions. He wanted to see Dipper's intelligent bright eyes too. And how they'd fill with cravings for _him_ this time. It can't be that hard. Not when Dipper can't even tell an apple from an orange.

"How? We can't sneak into Pacifica's house, she's probably on a flight to Mumbai already. We have to suck it up, sneak in the Shack without Damon seeing, and maybe-" Dipper said uneasily.

"That isn't what I meant," Will laughed. "You have your wallet with you, don't you? I do too. No credit cards if you're that nervous and think your psycho of a boyfriend is going to check your bank account for-"

"Will, what are you talking about?"

"I'm saying we should get a hotel room," he said bluntly.

"Oh." Dipper paused for what seemed like forever to Will. "I mean...that is kinda nice. A room to myself with room service to provide the antidotes of my bad decisions from the night before."

"Mason..." Will laughed. The hand he had on Dipper's knee tightened, though he doubted Dipper noticed. "You're bunking with me. Sharing is caring!"

"Don't call me that," he repeated offhandedly for the second time. "But you know Damon's not out to get you, right? He doesn't know you've been with me. You don't need to hide from him, just go home-"

"No, I don't think so." He could feel his frustration growing with every word they exchanged. How many times did he have to hint this? Dipper was supposed to be smart. At least smarter than Ford. "You can't just keep a hotel room for yourself. Don't you think that's a little selfish? Stay with me. In fact..." He trailed off purposely, letting Dipper fill in the blanks for once. If he didn't get this one, if he once again failed to realize what Will was trying to do, maybe it was time Will strained it. 

Thankfully, Dipper saw a glimpse of what he was trying to say. His eyes darkened in the glow of the lights. Will felt as if there should be a punchline here. "William, we can't share a room," Dipper said, his voice a little wobbly. "I've already broken enough rules with Damon. If he finds out about...about _this_ \- at least all he'll blame me with is drinking. But sharing a _room_? Will, he'll think-"

"Who _cares_ what he thinks?" Will groaned. He threw his head back as he did. "It's always Damon, Damon, _Damon_. He can't control your life, Dipper."

"Neither can you," Dipper shot back. His sudden defensive attitude nearly caught Will off guard. That wasn't what he was trying to do. Maybe he underestimated Dipper's love for that devil. The thought just burned him from the inside even more. Luckily, his heart was already too charred and ashed to be affected. It just gave his stomach those pains. 

"Are you scared of me?" Will said softly.

"What?" Dipper was caught off guard as much as he was with Dipper's snapping.

"You heard me." Will leaned, elbows on his knees. He tilted his head slightly to the right, and Dipper seemed to mirror him. They were so close. So close together. He almost screamed out of frustration. "Mason Pines, are you scared of me?" he repeated just as softly as before. It was quiet, sure, but it wasn't nearly as kind as it should be.

"Don't call me that," Dipper said, louder than the other times he had to repeat. "Will, don't call me that!" He tried to move his head away from Will, but he only succeeded in doing so for half an inch. 

"Aw," Will teased. "Is little Mason mad at me?"

Dipper shoved him hard in the chest, though Will was expecting it all. With Dipper's sluggish movements, he only succeeded in making Will sit back again. And for Will to put his hand back on Dipper's knee. 

"Will, what's wrong with you?" he asked, baffled by William's attitude. "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm really...really sorry."

"Don't apologize for drinking. That should be the least of your concerns, Mason! In fact, you should be thanking me for paying for your drinks." He grinned. 

Dipper's eyes shot wide. "Will, you didn't- you didn't have to do that. You know I have my own money," he scolded. His speech was beginning to slur again. With the adrenaline used on their conversations, he was getting more and more tired. "Wait. And...you can't have paid for all of them, you just _got_ here, and I...was..."

"I was here long before you, Mason," Will whispered. His other hand snapped out before Dipper's mind could comprehend it, and now Will's two fingers were wrapped around his chin. Dipper's mouth twitched downwards, twitching so badly that it looked as if his lips were trembling. He began to whimper distressingly. Though, that could just be Will's own head, trying to make him guilty enough to be talked out of this himself. 

"Will, you need to _stop,_ " Dipper moaned. "I can't feel the front of my head anymore. It's just...numb."

"I know it is." Because truthfully, his was too. It pounded with the party music deep in the building. His chest pounded with it as well. Not from nervousness, no, but from excitement. As much as he loved alcohol, he made sure he didn't have too much of it. It was already enough that one of them wasn't going to remember tonight. He was the one who needed to remember this.

He pressed his forehead against Dipper's. It felt good. Really good. "If you really wanted me to stop, even if you were drunk out of your mind like this, you would've stopped me by now. Something tells me...you're craving something. Something almost... _vile_ ," Will purred.

"Will," Dipper whimpered, "please stop."

Will looked down. The poor boy was shaking out of his wits. Hands, legs, lips- everything about him screamed _stop_ and that's all Will needed for him to _go._ He pressed his lips against Dipper's, jerking his chin upward lazily. They moved slothfully, slow and full. It burnt his insides even more, but the coals were changed for something else. It felt good, knowing that this was real. But also terrible, knowing that he couldn't have the same kisses he used to have from years ago. 

With the same laze as William, Dipper pressed his lips harder against his. His arms were curled on his lap, shaking with nails digging into his palms. He was stiff to the core, and William prayed for his sake that he would stop.

When Will stopped their kiss, a small little pop signifying its end, he noticed Dipper trying to chase for more. His head, which had tried so hard to move away from Will's lips, had tried to lean forward, desperate for more. "Someone's looking desperate," he said merrily. A little dribble of their mixed saliva had found its way on Dipper's chin. Neither seemed to care. In fact, it was a huge stimulant for Will. He licked his lips.

"I'm...really sorry," Dipper repeated, breathless this time. "I can't...I c- can't do this."

"Why not?" Will kissed the underside of his jaw, then right below. His kisses were listless, but sucked enough that he knew it would leave marks in the morning. He wondered how Dipper hasn't collapsed yet. He knew.

He knew how much Dipper craved for something like this. Damon failed to give it to him and it was William's turn to provide.

"Will, _stop,_ " he moaned. But Dipper loved it. He could tell. Just by the way he tilted his chin, just a little farther up, for Will to mark him even more. Or how he breathed, like he was trying not to groan happily. Or, more evidently, how his arms had finally decided to roam over Will's body.

Will had some thoughts come into his head. Thoughts he wanted to make a reality. He thought about Dipper's moans. How he would moan from the ecstasy too, to the point neither of them could tell who it was. He thought about their sloppy kisses, their highs, their _pleasure_. He wanted Dipper to sing his name. He wanted Dipper to beg and kneel for him. He wanted Dipper in his bed, all ready for him to fuck senseless. 

He just wanted _Dipper_.

"Seriously- _stop. STOP_!"

And just like that, the spell was broken. Dipper pushed him hard, so hard that Will almost toppled off his chair. Instead Will grabbed hold onto Dipper's knee and the bar counter, and looked up. For a brief moment they stared at each other, both in shock at what they did. For two very reasons.

And now he was angry. So very angry. He promised himself to never be this angry again. Because he couldn't stop his own actions in this condition either. 

"I'm going to give you three options, Mason," Will said softly. As before; soft, but not kind. Kind would be the last thing to describe how he wanted to deliver these words. He spread his hands. "Option one, you turn around and never look at me again. Not ever. I swear to you, you'll regret the day you turn to look at me because by then I would give you something to really regret. Option one is my second favorite option. Option two...is my least. You come running back to Damon, to never talk about this again, and risk me telling him about tonight. Believe me, you wouldn't want that. You won't have your Grunkles as your safety net because they'd be on my side, Damon will shut you down and you will be left with nothing but a shell of a human being with no help."

Dipper's eyes were wide. There was an underlay of fear in them. "Will-"

"Option three," Will said. His eyes darkened. "Is something I would suggest you decide on. Because I really... _really_ like option three," he drawled.

"What's option three?" Dipper asked him. He asked this boldly, though the sway in his voice was evident of his fear. Will doubted he ever got blackmailed in his life. At least, something as serious as this. 

Will leaned forward. Smoothly, he brought a finger under Dipper's chin and gave him a gently peck on the lips. Then he pressed her forehead against Dipper's. Their breaths were hot and smelled of alcohol. It was almost ironic that Will chose his plan of action with booze. It seems like more than half the time, people hook up when they're drunk and can barely remember the night before. He wanted to be more creative, but no one has the time to think things through when they were desperate. So very desperate.

"Let me take you to bed," Will murmured in Dipper's ear. "You've been longing for that, darling. Look at you- you're shaking."

"I'm shaking because I don't want it, Will," Dipper replied. His voice shook. Will had never seem him this scared before. "I don't...I don't want it."

"But I do. Don't be selfish," Will snapped. "Get up. _Get up._ We're going."

"Will-" Dipper pleaded. 

"Don't you dare," Will said calmly. "We're going, Dipper."

"Will, please stop joking, it's not funny."

"We're _going,_  Mason."

"This isn't funny." Dipper looked panicked. "Will-"

"I said we're _going_!" Will roared. He stood up from his stool, nearly pouncing on Dipper as he smothered his lips against the other. Dipper stifled a whine against their lips. He weakly tried to push Will off him, doing everything he can. Except every attempt, every scratch and failed hook and kick made Will that much more aroused. He pressed himself harder against Dipper. 

The only ones in the bar who would've noticed them were people who were too drunk to care and the bartender who saw them happily chatting a minute ago, thinking both parties were too horny out of their minds to do anything else. Only half of it was true.

"Stop," Dipper said weakly against their lips. It sounded muffled, but so miserable. "Stop, stop, stop it, _stop..._ "

And the sudden mantra of stop just...ironically, _stopped._ Will pressed his hand against Dipper's growing erection. He stopped kissing Dipper, not wanting to go too far in somewhere so vulgar. But when he did, Dipper moaned in frustration, and breathed, "Keep going. Just- just _go._ "

Will nodded eagerly, and kissed him again. He pulled Dipper up to his feet, and took them right out the door as fast as he could. But as much as he wanted to believe Dipper meant those words when he wanted Will to continue with this, he knew Dipper didn't mean it. He was drunk. And in a way, in a little twist, Will was too. While Dipper was drunk on alcohol, he was drunk with grief and torment. He can have this tonight, like any grieving person can have their own drugs. 

But even drugs don't last very long. 

But for all it was worth, at least for once William was the one to take Dipper's stresses away. Even though he had to demand it.


End file.
